There are 20 educational service centers in Texas, including Region 2 that incorporates school districts within the state's coastal region affected by Hurricane Harvey.[/caption]“It will be at least a month before [coastal Region 2] gets its schools up and running again,” TREA Executive Director Don Rogers said. Rogers was also Eanes ISD superintendent from 1974-91 and is the namesake for the district’s administration building. “They won’t have school supplies.”
He said the agency, which is generally tasked with advocating for rural public schools in Texas, wants to make sure it meets the needs of “the little rural schools scattered south of Corpus Christi up to and including Beaumont."
Working with Westlake-area law firm Powell and Leon LLP, local education service centers within Texas will collect supplies and cash, he said. Through the TREA the items and funds will be distributed to the affected region, Rogers said.
Besides the issue of school supplies, Rogers said there are no places for the teachers in the affected areas to live.
“Kids are scattered, and they may not come back [to the area],” he said. “There’s some serious things that are about to happen to those schools.”
Although Rogers said Region 2 has the ability to store the supplies, the project will be “a massive undertaking for distribution.”
“We’re not quite sure how to distribute [the donations yet],” Rogers said. “Region 2 will coordinate distribution with its [coastal] schools. We are thinking about giving out gift cards to teachers to buy their supplies. Money is the most transferable asset.”
For more information on how to donate funds for now, visit www.youcaring.com/texasruralschoolassociationfoundation-918260?fb_action_ids=10212943084719465&fb_action_types=youcaringcom%3Ashare.
