The state's biggest school districts had a rough first day back. Both Dallas and Fort Worth ISDs experienced phone failures and server crashes.
The web failures greeted many users first thing, says Fort Worth ISD’s Clint Bond.
"Early this morning, when most of us got to work," Bond says, "we found that there was an issue with our website. It was very slow in loading. Or you were unable to access it at all."
Dallas had similar problems telling users via Twitter, "We are currently experiencing technical issues with our phone lines and website."
Dallas ISD's Robyn Harris says things improved rapidly.
This is the first time this has ever happened. You know it was just a blip, and I think things will move along much better.
"We've actually been up and running since 10, 10:30 this morning and haven’t experienced any additional disruptions," Harris said.
It turns out web provider Blackboard Inc. handles Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston websites along with others nationwide, and they all suffered similar crashes.
Fort Worth also experienced phone failures. Still, the day wasn’t a complete loss. Emily Youree's little girls attended Fort Worth schools online.
"We only had one issue," Youree says, "where my older daughter got kicked out. But we were able to log back on pretty quickly. For us it was mostly smooth sailing."
Fort Worth’s Clint Bond said he hoped the choppy first day would smooth out for day two.
"This is the first time this has ever happened," Bond said. "You know it was just a blip, and I think things will move along much better."
