RRISD estimates up to $70M in damage from hailstorm

Round Rock school district officials say a hailstorm Sept. 25 caused an estimated $70 million in damage to 62 facilities, and that it could take years to make all of the repairs.

After inspecting the buildings, officials said most of the damage was to roofs. Along with the administration building, district officials identified Round Rock High School, Chisolm Trail Middle School, and Wells Branch and Brushy Creek elementaries as needing immediate repairs.

District documents show the damage will be covered under its insurance, which has a 2% deductible per building. Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said that means the district will have to pay about $1.4 million.

Dennis Covington, the chief financial officer, said Round Rock High suffered the worst damage.

District officials said repairing those five facilities will cost approximately $22 million, and that once those repairs are complete, work on the remaining buildings will begin.

Officials said it could take up to three years to repairs all the damage caused by the storm. Covington said that in the meantime, the district's maintenance team has made temporary fixes.

More: Social media posts show damage to cars, houses from severe hail storm in Austin area

"A lot of it's going to be due to materials, staffing for the repair companies, and they try to do most of the work when the kids aren't in the building," Covington said when asked why it will take three years to repair the damage.

"You probably have to schedule each section of the building, especially over at Round Rock (High School) because a lot of the buildings — not all of the buildings, but most of the buildings — need an entire roof replacement, and you can't have kids in there," he said during a Nov. 16 board meeting.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: RRISD estimates up to $70M in damage from hailstorm