Willis ISD middle school flooded, board approves emergency testing to determine cause

Willis ISD trustees approved 5-0 an emergency vendor for Brabham Middle School at its Jan. 27 special meeting.

What you need to know

During a storm Jan. 9, a flood occurred at the school located at 10000 FM 830 in Willis. Superintendent Kimberley James said the storm caused water to enter the library area through electrical conduit through the slab of the ground.

“Immediate action was taken to begin remediation. An emergency contract was entered by myself by using the Willis ISD board policy ... which allowed me to enter contracts for emergency purposes,” James said during the meeting.

The contract was awarded to Stewart Builders. Director of Communications Jamie Fails said the company will X-ray the flooded area around the school to find out what is happening. Trustee Chad Jones described going to the area and seeing that the ground was soft as it had previously rained the day before.

Robert Eaton, the district’s chief of construction and operations, told the board that they had learned that the issue could possibly come from a drainage ditch impacting the conduit.