Adding to the confusion brought by hurricanes Gustav and Ike last month was the task of staying abreast of storm-related developments such as school closures and reopenings. Parents had little other option than to stay glued to the news media for updates as to when Johnny might start school again.

Next time around it should be a bit easier.

The Iberia Parish school district is preparing to implement an emergency alert system that will keep parents apprised of crisis situations, last-minute school closures and the like. The system, known as Streem Alert, has already tested successfully and is slated for full implementation this December.

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By adding the alert system, Iberia Parish joins a legion of other school districts and universities nationwide that have taken advantage of the latest technologies in an attempt to improve communications and make campuses safer.

But a few details as to how the information will be disseminated remain unresolved. Text messaging is the quickest means of getting the word out, but some parents might be charged for receiving the message depending on their phone plans, which the school district wishes to avoid. Gwen Migues, a computer programmer in the school district, said officials are still exploring an agreement through which the messages would be sent free of charge, but the deal has not been finalized.

With the current setup, calling several thousand parents would take far too long for the type of information being disseminated, officials said.

Iberia Parish is the first in the Teche Area to announce plans for an emergency alert system. But officials in both the St. Mary and St. Martin school districts said they are pursuing similar opportunities.

St. Martin Parish Superin-tendent Richard Lavergne said his district is considering two companies and looking for the best price, adding that it could be brought to the School Board within “two or three months.”

St. Mary Parish officials frequently updated a blog last month to keep parents informed. Clevon Self, the district’s technology manager, said the district is also looking into an alert system, although some of the schools already have such systems in place.