Central Bucks School District Preparing for Irene

In most years, the last few days leading up the start of classes in the Central Bucks School District is a time to make sure the windows are clean, the floors buffed, and the bathrooms immaculate for the 21,000 students and staff who will report.

This year, with a bearing down on the East Coast, those preparations will take on more significance.

Scott Kennedy, the district's operations director, said Thursday that his staff would spend time on Friday inspecting roof drains on the district's 15 elementary schools, 6 middle schools and 3 high schools to make sure they are free of debris.

On Sunday, crews will inspect the inside of the buildings, looking for leaks and other damage caused by the storm, he said. If the area receives 4 or 5 inches of precipitation, as forecasts suggest, Kennedy said leaks would be inevitable.

"That's probably our biggest concern," he said. "If the leaks are severe, we can call people in to make repairs. If they're minor, we'll clean them up and be ready for school Monday."

Staff will be on call to deal with any emergencies over the weekend, said Kennedy. The operations team will be monitoring the buildings' electrical systems remotely and will respond appropriately if there are outages, he said.

Since none of the district buildings are located near creeks or streams, Kennedy said flooding should not be a problem. However, some of the roads leading to the schools could be flooded, making transportation difficult, he said.

In addition to heavy rain, Kennedy said his biggest concern is wind. With the ground already saturated by 13 inches of August rain, trees could be easily toppled, he said, presenting a whole new set of problems for the operations staff.

"Everybody knows to be available this weekend," he said.

Keep tabs on the forecast for Irene's projected path and local impact with the Weather Channel's Hurricane Tracker.