Mold Remediation in Lubbock, TX

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Lubbock ISD is considering its future, while juggling declining enrollment, aging facilities and a limited budget. Some parents have taken to Facebook, posting and commenting concerns the future could mean the closure of their child’s school.

One post, including four slides from a recent presentation showing possibilities for Lubbock ISD to consolidate some of its schools, garnered 280 comments and nearly that many shares. Superintendent Dr. Kathy Rollo addressed those concerns Thursday afternoon, saying the district has to consider its future.

As part of that consideration, the district hosted its first Future Focus Committee” meeting, Tuesday evening. It consists of more than a hundred people, from parents to students, educators and local leaders.

“They [the board of trustees] really wanted a way, as we’re addressing some challenges, to have some real community input. So that they’re not making decisions, just the seven of them by themselves, but that they’re making decisions that are informed by the community,” Rollo said.

Rollo says one of those challenges is maintaining the student experience, and access to those options across the district.

“That’s a challenge for us right now in some of our schools, because when you have a small number of students in a school, you may not be able to offer all of the same elective options for kids, as an example.”

The district is also facing declining enrollment. Rollo says it’s dropped anywhere from one to three percent every year for the last decade.

“Another factor that’s really outside of our control is much of the growth, actually most of the growth in our Lubbock area is outside of Lubbock ISD’s boundaries,” she said. “And so, while we may see some districts around us growing, in general, Lubbock County’s birth rate is down, but Lubbock ISD in particular, within our boundaries, we just have declining enrollment.”

Rollo claims another piece of this puzzle is school finance. This year, the district is operating in a $14.8 million deficit budget, what she calls a similar situation for schools across the state.

She says while state requirements have increased, the basic allotment per student has stayed the same since 2019.

Meanwhile, she says some aging facilities need a lot of work to keep them going. She reports only 77 percent of the buildings across the district are being utilized.

“Some buildings are full, but we have some other buildings that are operating at a 50% capacity. And so, looking across the district at all of our facilities, are there ways that we could pair campuses and consolidate them into one building and still be able to provide the same programs, the same services that we do for children?” she said.

That’s why the district is exploring facility pairing, as one of several solutions.

“In that first meeting, we looked at every single possible configuration. That does not mean that all of those are feasible and possible,” she said. “They are just some things that we threw out there for this committee to consider.”

Rollo says she understands people are emotionally attached to their schools. She was part of a Lubbock ISD school merger as a principal.

“We recognize and understand there’s a lot of emotion behind this, but that’s why we really have to look at the data,” she said. “Because our number one job as a school district is to ensure that we are providing the best programming we can for our kids.”

Rollo says after combining Guadalupe, Jackson and Wright elementaries into the new Carmona-Harrison Elementary School as part of the 2018 bond, TEA data shows the district saved $1.8 million in operating expenses after the first year it opened.

She says the district has considered and is already implemented some other solutions. Those include reducing staff to match the declining enrollment, cuts in the central office and cuts to software programs.

Rollo says the district wants feedback on these options, whether that‘s through people finding a committee member, or sending her or board members an email. You can find information about the Future Focus Committee and the presentation from its first meeting on this website.

The site includes frequently asked questions, a list of committee members and other meeting information.

At its next meeting, Rollo says the committee will develop some recommendations. It will present those to the board of trustees in a workshop on Nov. 7. The board will not take any action until Nov. 21, for next school year.

The Future Focus Committee will meet six more times after that, to look at long-term planning and what the district can do moving forward.

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The finest high school marching bands from across the state will descend on San Antonio's Alamodome this week and next for the UIL State Marching Band Championships, competing to be named the best band in Texas.

For the second year, bands from all six size classifications — 1A to 6A — are competing in the state marching contest over a two-week span. In past years, classifications would rotate each year, with any given band only eligible to compete in the state contest every other year. Bands in all classifications are now eligible to qualify for state every year.

The first week's competition began Monday with the Class 5A preliminary round, continues Tuesday with Class 1A prelims and finals and 5A finals, and finishes Wednesday, Nov. 6, with Class 3A prelims and finals.

Next week, Nov. 11-13, Class 2A, 4A and 6A bands will compete for the top spot at the Alamodome.

How to watch the Texas state marching band contest

Spectators in the San Antonio area can watch in person at the Alamodome. Single session tickets are $20 plus fees and double session tickets are $35 plus fees. Spectators are encouraged to arrive early and follow the Alamodome's clear bag policy. Tickets are available at the Alamodome box office or through Ticketmaster.

The UIL will livestream the contests online through NFHS Network for a fee. Viewers can purchase a monthly pass to the service for $11.99 to access all the sessions. (You can cancel your subscription afterward.) Click the link below to access the stream.

Watch:UIL State Marching Band Championships

Who's competing? Contest schedule

Here's a list of all the bands competing in the state marching contest this week, along with their preliminary performance times. If a band advances to the final round of competition, a second, later performance will be scheduled. All of these performances will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio with bands taking the field every 15 minutes.

Monday, Nov. 4 — Class 5A prelims

Tuesday, Nov. 5 — Class 1A prelims and finals, 5A finals

Wednesday, Nov. 6 — Class 3A prelims and finals

Lubbock Power & Light crews are among first responders and disaster recovery teams from Texas heading to Florida this week to assist with Hurricane Milton recovery efforts.

By late Tuesday, Milton was categorized as a major hurricane and recently re-upgraded to a Category 5 storm as it moved east through the Gulf of Mexico on a projected path toward Florida's Gulf Coast.

Embedded content: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/10/08/hurricane-milton-live-updates-florida-tuesday/75563336007/

This is the second major hurricane expected to impact Florida in recent weeks after Hurricane Helene caused major damage and was blamed for hundreds of deaths from the northern Florida Gulf Coast into the Carolinas.

Lubbock Power & Light sends crews

On Tuesday, LP&L announced crews from the municipal utility were returning to Florida, this time heading to Gainesville, in anticipation recovery efforts, according to a news release.

In preparation for power restoration, LP&L is sending 13 vehicles and 15 crewmembers. These crewmembers will replace the 15 LP&L employees who just returned from Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

The LP&L vehicles departed Tuesday from the LP&L Distribution Center. On Tuesday they drove to Ruston, Louisiana and on Wednesday they're expected to complete the journey to Gainesville where they will shelter until the storm passes.

The 15 crewmembers making the trip include two construction crews, two service crews, and one mechanic. The call out for assistance comes as a result of a mutual service agreement signed by LP&L to assist in these types of disaster recovery events.

In the last few weeks, LP&L had already been assisting Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Preliminary data shows that GRU has not experienced this level of damage since Hurricane Irma in 2017. The restoration process involved changing out around 100 poles, 70 transformers, and miles of conductor. All told, the first round of LP&L crews worked over 195 hours and traveled approximately 3,000 miles in order to safely restore power after Hurricane Helene.

As Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Helene, local resources are limited and we will continue to provide support in response to extensive damage from both hurricanes.

Given the disaster declaration issued, all expenses related to LP&L’s efforts in restoring power to residents of Florida will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to the news release.

"Florida's recovery from these consecutive hurricanes will take time, but mutual aid ensures we can contribute to their swift recovery," said Joel Ivy, LP&L Chief Administrative Officer. "We’re proud to be part of the nationwide effort to bring communities back on their feet and demonstrate the power of collaboration in times of crisis."

Breedlove sends food assistance after Hurricane Helene

Last week, Lubbock-based Breedlove Foods sent truckloads of food to Georgia and North Carolina to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The shipments of dehydrated meals were shipped out Oct. 2 and 3.

"Our first two shipments of food relief for Hurricane Helene shipped out Wednesday and Thursday. The first shipment is headed to Georgia in partnership with SERV International, a nonprofit based in Canton, Georgia. The second shipment which Thursday is headed to North Carolina in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, a nonprofit headquartered in Boone, North Carolina. In total, these two shipments will provide 200,000 meal servings," reads a message from Breedlove. "We currently have a generous donor willing to match donations up to $45,000. Breedlove would be very appreciative of any monetary support the Lubbock community is willing to offer so that we can continue to send more food to people who desperately need it. Anyone interested in making a donation can visit us at breedlove.org."

Texas sends emergency crews for Hurricane Milton

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to deploy additional Texas emergency response personnel to Florida as Hurricane Milton moves through the Gulf of Mexico, following a request from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

“Our country is stronger when we come together in times of crisis, and Texas is immediately deploying additional support to help our fellow Americans as Florida braces for this major hurricane,” Abbott said in a news release. “I directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy more emergency management personnel to assist Floridians in preparation for this devastating hurricane. I thank all the emergency response personnel and first responders from Texas and across the country for working tirelessly to protect Americans from Hurricane Milton’s destruction.”

At the direction of Gov. Abbott, TDEM has deployed an Incident Management Team consisting of emergency management personnel to support incident command, planning, operations, logistics, resource coordination, and disaster finance to assist with Florida’s Hurricane Milton emergency response operations.

These resources are in addition to the deployment of swiftwater rescue boat squads and search and rescue personnel to assist with flood response efforts and other emergency management personnel to provide support for emergency response resource coordination efforts yesterday ahead of impacts from Hurricane Milton.

This deployment of resources is coordinated under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). EMAC is a state-to-state mutual aid system that enables states to provide assistance and share resources with another state in response to a disaster or emergency. EMAC members can share resources from all disciplines, protect personnel who deploy, and be reimbursed for mission-related costs. For more information, visit emacweb.org.

Texas has deployed nearly 200 first responders to support hurricane response and recovery efforts across the southeastern United States, including:

Certainly, the Texas Tech football team opened eyes around the country by beating No. 11 Iowa State on Saturday. Now, the Red Raiders will get plenty of extra attention as the FOX Big Noon Kickoff pregame show is set to come to the South Plains.

This weekend, the 6-3 Red Raiders will take on Colorado, which is 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play. It will be a crucial game between two teams that still have hopes of playing for a Big 12 title and FOX is sending its traveling pregame show to cover it.

This will be the first time that FOX's pregame show has come to Texas Tech. What's more, it is only the second time that one of the national traveling pregame shows has come to Lubbock after ESPN's College GameDay was broadcast from Lubbock in 2008 when the No. 7 Red Raiders hosted the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in the famous game that ended with the Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree touchdown catch in the closing seconds.

Big Noon Kickoff is hosted each week by Rob Stone along with analysts Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer, and Brady Quinn. It airs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Central.

However, this does not mean that Tech and Colorado will kick off at 11 a.m. Though that is the time that FOX typically airs its biggest game of the day, this week, Ohio State and Purdue will occupy that window on the network.

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders and the Buffaloes will play at 3 p.m. Central. Though Red Raider fans were hoping for a night game, against "Coach Prime" Deion Sanders and his team, a 3 p.m. kick is far more desirable than an 11 a.m. kick.

It should be an exciting Saturday for the Red Raiders. Not only is the game already a sell-out, but it could also be the day that running back Tahj Brooks breaks Texas Tech's all-time rushing record. He is just 120 yards away from setting that mark and in every game he's played this year, he's run for at least 109 yards. Overall, he's averaging 130.8 yards per game on the ground so many think he'll pass Byron Hanspard this week.

Details about the Big Noon Kickoff broadcast such as the location and the time that fans will be allowed on the set have yet to be announced but are expected in the coming days. It will certainly be a weekend to remember around Raiderland.

This has been updated with new information as of Oct. 15.

Two West Texas-area healthcare entities - the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center system and University Medical Center in Lubbock - are weeks into widespread IT outages, with UMC confirming it experienced a ransomware attack.

While Lubbock's other major hospital system, Covenant Health, did not experience technical issues, the impact of these issues is impacting patients across West Texas and stretching to college campuses in Dallas, El Paso, Abilene and Amarillo.

When did the West Texas ransomware attack begin?

University Medical Center Healthcare System in Lubbock, a Level 1 trauma center, announced the outage at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26. The next day, the system confirmed it was being impacted by an ongoing ransomware attack.

"UMC Health System recently detected unusual activity within our IT systems," the center stated on its website. "Immediately after detecting this activity, our teams launched an investigation and took steps to proactively disconnect our systems to contain the incident. Through the ongoing investigation, we determined that the unusual activity was connected to a ransomware incident."

Ransomware "is malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable," according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. People who deploy the malware then demand money in exchange for releasing the files and systems.

Level 1 trauma centers have the highest surgical level capabilities designation. UMC is one of few across Texas, and the only one in West Texas.

While Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center confirmed an IT outage on Sunday, Sept. 29, it did not confirm if it was related to the attack on UMC. Later, the university confirmed the ongoing issues are due to a cybersecurity event. The center, which has campuses and clinics in Amarillo, the Permian Basin, Abilene, Dallas, and El Paso, has limited its operations.

The Avalanche-Journal has requested interviews with the CEO of UMC and TTUHSC president since earlier this month. We have been denied interviews.

What is impacted in the West Texas hospital ransomware attack, IT outage?

For TTUHSC, clinical operations were limited and classes were canceled on Monday, Sept. 30. Texas Tech Physicians, part of the organization, stated the clinic's phone lines were down and TTP could not communicate with patients through the online portal.

By Oct. 1, academic classes and operations resumed. Clinical operations and sites remained limited and would continue into the week.

The center's website, ttuhsc.edu, along with El Paso's website, remained unreachable on Tuesday. The website for Texas Tech Physicians gave an error message, though the phone number for the Multispecialty Clinic is working.

According to TTUHSC's social media, the Odessa clinics phone lines were down and were in the process of coming back Oct. 2. Previously scheduled appointments across the system are being kept. TTUHSC.edu email accounts can not be accessed.

The latest update on the clinics came from social media on Oct. 3. All Amarillo clinics have working phones, though intermittent outages could occur. Call backs could appear as blocked or unavailable on caller IDs. OB+GYN in Canyon and Pediatrics on Hillside cannot receive calls. Lubbock phone lines are working, though Midland and Odessa Clinics are still working to restore phone services.

Students, on Oct. 7, were told to complete assignments and hold onto them until informed by the school/course director. Provost Darrin D’Agostino also issued a statement to students.

"Rest assured that our faculty and staff are here to provide support and be as flexible as possible during this time, while maintaining the integrity of your education," D'Agostino said. "If you are experiencing difficulties or need assistance, I encourage you to reach out to your instructors or academic advisors—together, we will find solutions that work for you. Your perseverance and adaptability in the face of these challenges have not gone unnoticed, and we are committed to ensuring that you receive the support you need to continue your academic journey."

The cancellation from enrollment for non-payment for HSC students, which would have happened on Oct. 8, was eliminated, according to an Oct. 14 update.

On Oct. 2, TTUHSC released a landing page for public to see how the the IT outage is impacting academics, patients and team members and get their general questions answered. Visit: ttuhscinfo.com/ for more information.

That page for team members assured that employees' pay will not be impacted. On Oct. 12, departments were required to submit daily time entry spreadsheets for the previous workday by 10 a.m. The sheet is then sent to payroll.

When UMC first announced the attack, it diverted incoming emergency and non-emergency patients to other health facilities. Downtime procedures and accommodations were implemented to minimize disruptions.

The HIPPA Journal on Friday reported that the attack "affected multiple systems" at UMC, including the phone system. The report also stated UMC was unable to view messages in the patient portal.

UMC's latest update, issued around 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, stated progress has been made in restoring some services. Healthcare facilities remain open, including emergency centers and urgent care clinics. The Emergency Center was reopened to patients via ambulance.

"However, out of an abundance of caution, the Emergency Center continues to divert a select number of patients until all UMC resources are fully functioning," UMC stated.

UMC is investigating the ongoing issues and collaborating with third parties to restore operations.

"We expect to make substantial progress throughout the next few days," the center stated on an Oct. 4 update. "We remain committed to minimizing any disruption to our patients and will continue to keep our patients and community updated on our progress."

On Oct. 4, an update stated that the phone lines were back for all locations, Emergency Centers and Urgent Care Clinics are open, and only a select number of patients are being diverted.

The latest update, issued Oct. 11, stated UMC's Electronic Health Record system and the Find-a-Physician page have been restored across all UMC locations. Patients have also regained access to MyTeamCare patient portal and can communicate with UMCP Clinics. Emergency centers are accepting patients via ambulance, with "a select number of patients are being diverted."

"While these are important milestones in our recovery process, our investigation into the nature and scope of this incident remains ongoing, and we continue to work alongside third-party firms to safely restore full operations," the release stated.

Covenant Health System remains unimpacted by outage, attack. Here's what it is doing:

Covenant Health System, also in Lubbock, was alerted to the issue by UMC on the morning of Sept. 26. Covenant Medical Center and Covenant Children's assured they would be available to help. While UMC and TTUHSC remain at lower capacity, Covenant remains fully operational.

However, as the only fully operational system in Lubbock, it is impacted due to more people coming in. On Monday, Sept. 30, the system warned the public that wait times have increased at the Covenant Medical Center Emergency Department, even as high as 8 hours.

On Oct. 15, Covenant Health paused elective surgeries due to a nationwide IV fluid shortage caused by Hurricane Helene damaging a North Carolina manufacturing facility. In the release, it mentioned that Covenant's supply had been stressed prior to the hurricane due to the influx of patients during the ransomware attack.

The system encouraged people to utilize the other Emergency Centers on Quaker and Milwaukee Avenues, which are open 24/7 and have shorter wait times. People should also use the urgent care clinics for matters including:

Covenant's cybersecurity team is monitoring evolving threats and attacks.

How much is the ransom during the West Texas healthcare attack?

UMC has not said how much the ransom is as of Tuesday. However, the HIPAA Journal published a report with information from the State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2024, from Sophos, a British-based security software and hardware company.

Out of the 155 health organizations Sophos obtained information from, the average ransom in 2024 was $4 million. About 65% of the demands were for $1 million or more, and the remaining percent was for $5 million or more.

The ransom is just part of the overall cost of recovery, and recovery time has grown. The report stated 37% of surveyed systems took more than a month to recover in 2024, compared to 28% in 2023.