After seeing the damaged school for herself this past January, ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith returned to the campus of Walt Disney Elementary and met with school officials to learn the future of the school.
Ranae Rives, the chief communications officer for Alvin ISD, told ABC13 the current plan is to rebuild the new Walt Disney Elementary on the empty foundation of the old school, which would cost an estimated $44 million. But before the district can move forward, there are a few site regulations that need to be addressed first.
Meanwhile, the site sits still and empty. While there's a former sign, swing set, and parking lot, you'd have no idea that there used to be a school there. Rives described the sight as "shocking," and she and school Principal Devin DeLaGarza walked the once school hallways with Elyse Smith.
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The tornado occurred on a Saturday afternoon and during the district's holiday break in December 2024. So thankfully, no students or staff were on campus when the tornado hit.
That didn't stop school officials from wondering what could have happened if it were a school day.
Elyse Smith asked if there had been any changes made to their severe weather plan based on the damage done to the school.
"We did reevaluate that after this happened," Rives said. "You learn something from every emergency. So we realized there were some things we needed to address, and so that has been in all our schools."
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