How One School District’s Crisis Inspired Our File Management Solution
When disaster strikes, is your school truly ready to act?
If your school district is like most, the answer is probably no—even if you have an emergency operations plan. One superintendent discovered this fact too late. Here’s Dr. Bower’s story and the lessons he learned that inspired our development of The Vault, a file management solution for school districts large and small.
Disaster strikes in Hopkins County, Texas
Boasting a sparse population of just under 40,000, Hopkins County—once known as the Dairy Capital of Texas—is home to the students, faculty, and administrators of Como-Pickton CISD.
Normally a quiet county, the area was hit with an unexpectedly terrible storm, including a tornado, in the summer of 2023. Schools in the district suffered significant damage that would eventually take months to repair—holes in roofs, air conditioners ripped out of place, torn-down buildings, and more.
Luckily, no one was on campus during the stormy event.
Unluckily, the school’s documentation was.
All critical documentation—emergency operations plan, insurance documentation, etc.—was housed in a building that was inaccessible due to downed power lines and building damage.
Dr. Greg Bower, superintendent for the district since 2017, happened to be on the other side of the country at the time. He was understandably bombarded with questions from faculty, staff, parents, and the media. Without the district’s documentation, he was hard pressed to provide informed answers.
As the stressed-out superintendent discovered too late, it’s not enough to put important information in writing. You also need around-the-clock access to that information.
The School District Works Toward Recovery
Dr. Bower did his best to right the situation without access to important emergency planning and insurance documentation. Drawing on years of leadership experience and training, he established communication channels with faculty and administrative staff to address safety concerns. He also contacted third parties who could help assess and repair damage to the CISD properties impacted by the storm.
“While we ultimately bounced back, having on hand the documentation my staff spent time and energy on preparing for times like this would have made the recovery process much more efficient and much less stressful,” Dr. Bower explains. “We’ve since taken strides to streamline our documentation approach to ensure we’re properly prepared should our district face unforeseen circumstances in the future.”
– Dr. Greg Bower, Como-Pickton CISD
Lessons Learned
After facing disaster and navigating the recovery process, CISD’s resourceful superintendent learned several important lessons that have helped shape the future of the district’s operations.
Organization is key
Having a place for everything, and everything in its place is key to finding relevant info quickly.
Access is critical
Get it in writing, but also ensure everything written can be easily accessed at all times from anywhere.
Search is important
When time is of the essence, being able to search for a specific document is important.
Security is paramount
Securing documentation from nature (and people) is paramount for operational sustainability.
Later is too late
Too many districts say, "We'll get to it next year." Do it now because disaster can strike tomorrow.
Each of these lessons was incorporated into our development of The Vault, a CYA* file management solution for school district administrators to secure important documents—SOPs, personnel files, maintenance records, etc.—and retain access to them anywhere, anytime.
Enter The Vault
Ensure your district doesn’t face the same struggle as CISD. Start *covering your assets and protecting your essential documents with The Vault. Let us show you how our solution can help your district stay secure and ready for a crisis with a free demo.
