LAND O’ LAKES – Superintendent Kurt Browning said he was proud of how Pasco County Schools opened and staffed five shelters in anticipation of Hurricane Helene.
Shelters were at Centennial Middle (Dade City); Fivay High (Hudson); Wiregrass Ranch High (Wesley Chapel); River Ridge middle and high (New Port Richey); and Sunlake High (Land O’ Lakes).
“The superintendent’s immediate staff just coalesced so quickly to address all the needs from finances to staffing of shelters to payroll to damage control, mitigation, employee care, battening down schools,” Browning said during the Oct. 1 school board meeting. “I can’t thank them enough for what they did, and it just wasn’t between the hours of 8 and 5.”
Browning said the district is assessing employees that have been adversely impacted by the storm.
“We do have several principals and also one of our assistant superintendents who were impacted by the storm and they’ve all been continuing to do their work as well as trying to keep their lives in order and support their staff who were also affected,” said Tom Barker, assistant superintendent for elementary schools. “I echo the sentiment that we have amazing staff in this county.“
Jeff Larsen, president of the United School Employees of Pasco, said the response to Hurricane Helene demonstrated how district staff are heroes.
Larsen said many district employees left work on Wednesday to assist members of the community staying at shelters. And several have been helping with hurricane recovery.
“On Monday, many of these impacted people paused their own recovery efforts to come to work,” Larsen said. “I know of teachers and (school-related personnel) that lost everything due to flooding and they still came to work on Monday.”
One teacher told Larsen, “I just wanted my students to be able to feel normal.“
