Below is a message sent from Dr. Causby to all CHCCS parents by phone and by email updating them on the opening of school. _____
Dear CHCCS Families,
Another exciting school year opened yesterday. I have been out visiting schools and principals, and from all indications our students and teachers are off to a great start. However, I feel a need to update you on a few areas that did not go as planned.
First, we woke up on Monday to learn that Estes Hills Elementary had no power. I understand this school had electrical issues last year. Fortunately, yesterday’s power outage was not the fault of our school infrastructure. It was entirely on the shoulders of Duke Energy. We worked with them throughout the day and they got it fixed later in the afternoon. However, we did make the decision to send home the students at 11 a.m., primarily due to the lack of air conditioning. I am pleased to report that today has been a great day at Estes Hills. Classrooms are cool and students are learning.
The second big issue, and it is one that impacted almost as many people, is our transportation errors. While there are always problems on the first few days of school, the number of problems we have experienced this year greatly exceeds years past. There are a variety of reasons for this, but they all came together to create a perfect storm this year. Additionally, the heavy volume of parent questions and concerns being called into our Transportation Office quickly filled up all voicemail boxes and resulted in frustration on the part of both parents and Transportation staff.
To that end, we have asked our technology team to restructure the phone system to increase the number of incoming lines, and we are bringing in staff from Lincoln Center and schools to assist with manning these phones in an effort to increase our capacity to provide live assistance as needed. Now, of course, our Transportation leaders are working to resolve the bus route issues, and that is the bottom line goal. But in the meantime, we want you to know that we are working to get every route straightened out and to provide a greater level of customer service in the meantime.
Thank you for your continued understanding and support. I will call you again within the next 24 hours with another update. I hope you enjoy the remainder of your day.
Sincerely,
Jim Causby
Interim Superintendent
