Superintendent Hairston, Board of Education Members Offer Support

The sign in front of Seneca Elementary School said it all: “After the rain comes the rainbow,” it read. “We are with you.” With parts of Bowleys Quarters, Chase, Dundalk, and Edgemere still mopping up from the devastating floods and winds that accompanied Tropical Storm Isabel on Sept. 18-19, a delegation of Baltimore County Public Schools officials, led by Superintendent Dr. Joe A. Hairston, visited the areas to assess the damage and offer support. “We will recover,” Dr. Hairston declared as he stood outside a ruined auto collision lab and welding classroom at Sollers Point Technical High School. “We’re going to focus our attention on the human concerns – making sure our kids are comfortable and that their well-being is in good shape.”

Accompanied by Board of Education member Don Arnold and Southeast Area Executive Director Robert Kemmery, Dr. Hairston visited Seneca and Chase elementary schools in Eastern Baltimore County and, two days earlier, viewed areas at Sollers Point and near Sparrows Point middle and high schools that were heavily damaged or destroyed by Isabel. The county’s school system survived the storm with minimal damage at most of its 162 schools. More than 100 trees came down on school property during the storm, and at the height of Isabel about half of the schools lost power. For most schools, that meant restocking the cafeteria and recalibrating computerized building systems that regulate everything from ventilation to security alarms. But Sollers Point Technical High in the Turners Station neighborhood of Dundalk took the brunt of Isabel’s fury. Water from Peach Orchard Creek, which backs up to the school’s property, steadily rose during the storm until it had submerged the school’s auto body shop and welding areas under about four feet of water.

As he surveyed the damage, Dr. Hairston saw ruined welding machines, rusting metal supplies, a flooded forklift, and other damage. "We have a good relationship with the business community, and so we are sure we will be able to restart anything that might be damaged,” Dr. Hairston said. “This school is important to the community and to the county, and we know we will see support for its programs.” Despite the losses, Sollers Point Principal Ed Fangman was upbeat and philosophical. With community and business support, and support pledged from Dr. Hairston, the school will bounce back, he said. “We were lucky, really,” Mr. Fangman said. “It could have been far worse. Our building folks say that during the worst of it the water came within an inch or two of the (school’s) first floor. If that had happened, you would have had water pouring into every window and door.”

At Sparrows Point, Dr. Hairston saw the effects of the storm on the surrounding community – flooded cars and debris-filled streets. At the school, which has been used as a staging area for assistance operations, he greeted staffers and viewed area residents leaving waterlogged debris in a bank of dumpsters set up to assist clean-up operations. In the county’s eastern precincts, however, Dr. Hairston and Mr. Arnold saw first-hand the impact of the worst of Isabel’s punch. They toured the Bowleys Quarters area and visited Seneca Elementary, where many children directly affected by the flooding in their homes attend school.

Dr. Hairston had special praise for the staff at Seneca, many of whom arrived at the school in the days immediately after the storm and spent days helping the community recover. As he and Mr. Arnold visited classrooms at the school with Principal Verletta White, they paused to thank teachers and talk with students and parents about their experiences and the community’s needs.

Later, at Chase Elementary School, Dr. Hairston talked with Principal Sharon Whitlock about resources the school and community could use to assist the recovery effort. “This is what it’s all about – caring for these children and their families and the community,” Dr. Hairston said. “I congratulate you all, and I thank you for your hard work and dedication.”

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Story and Photos by Charles Herndon Communications Officer