Language Development Center Temporarily Closed and Classes Cancelled during Oct. 12-15th due to flooding damages

By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2015

The pre-kindergarten and kindergarten Language Development Center of the Eagle Pass Independent School District suffered severe damages due to the Thursday and Friday,  October 8-9, 2015, heavy thunderstorms which drenched Eagle Pass, Texas with over 12 inches of rain in a 24 hours period causing flooding at the public school as well as the community.

The Eagle Pass Independent School District announced that classes at its Language Development Center  are cancelled during October 12-15, 2015 and its classes are being transferred to Austin Elementary School effective on Friday, October 16, 2015 to allow the school district to assess the severity of damages and to make repairs caused by the flash flooding on October 8-9, 2015.  The damages sustained by the Language Development Center are greater than first believed.

Students of the Language Development Center are expected to remain at Austin Elementary for a period of four weeks or more before returning to the flood-prone South Veterans Boulevard campus.

The Eagle Pass Independent School District has had to hire a property restoration company called “Belfor” to assesses and repair any damages caused at the school from the October 8-9th flood.  The school district will have to remove three feet of sheet rock from the school walls which got wet and may be prone to mold contamination from the water moisture. Over 50 fans and 20 dehumidifiers are being used to dry the school.

The Language Development Center is located on South Veterans Boulevard and surrounded on two sides by the City of Eagle Pass’s largest water drainage system and detention pond which regularly causes flooding to the school when there are severe thunderstorms such as October 8-9th.

The massive collection and transportation of rain waters in the City of Eagle Pass’s water drainage system poses a public health hazard to the students, teachers, and staff who attend and work at Language Development Center.  Two years ago in September 2013, the Language Development Center had to be closed down due to serious mold contamination inside the school, including classrooms, forcing the Eagle Pass Independent School District to undertake a million dollar mold remediation project and transfer the students and staff to the formerly closed Austin Elementary School for the remainder of the school year.

Although the Eagle Pass Independent School District completed the mold contamination remediation program at the Language Development Center in 2014, the new flooding inside the school may possibly create an environment and conditions conducive to new or future mold contamination in the Language Development Center depending on the extent of the flooding inside the school and whether the water got into the walls, floors, and ceilings of the school.

While the Eagle Pass Independent School District will reopen classes at the Language Development Center on Friday,  October 16, 2015 at Austin Elementary, LDC’s location adjacent to the City of Eagle Pass’s largest water drainage collection system and detention pond will subject it to future flooding whenever the next severe thunderstorms hit the community.

One local taxpayer noted that perhaps the Eagle Pass Independent School District should build a new campus at a different site which is not in the FEMA flood plain and surrounded by the City of Eagle Pass’s largest water drainage collection system and detention pond to protect the public health of students, teachers, and staff.  The taxpayer added that any repairs to the Language Development Center will only last until the next severe thunderstorm falls on Eagle Pass.  The potential flooding and mold contamination of the Language Development Center is certain to reoccur every time that there is another severe thunderstorm.