Humble ISD principal sleeps on roof to raise funds

HUMBLE, Texas – One Humble ISD principal is sleeping on the roof of his school Wednesday night as part of a deal to raise money for families affected by Tropical Storm Imelda. 

The deal was that if the school could raise at least $5,000 for Creekwood Middle School families affected by Imelda, Principal Walt Winicki will sleep on the roof, two-stories up in the air.

The kids were so determined to make that happen, they surpassed their goal and raised nearly $7,000. 

Winicki will be sleeping on a memory foam mattress donated by Skells Furniture. The person who donated the largest amount will receive the bed in return. 

“The bed is set up right above the orchestra room so if they’re playing tonight I’m going to be entertained,” Winicki said. 

Winicki climbed up the narrow ladder to the roof multiple times to fulfill his promise. 

The nearly $7,000 donated will help 37 Kingwood families like the Monteiros, whose homes flooded during the storm. 

“Our entire house has to be gutted. Subfloor, bathroom, kitchen, everything but the wall is completely gutted,” Scottie Monteiro said.

Monteiro said their Kingwood home was first flooded in May and while they were working on repairs, Imelda unexpectedly flooded their garage where all their furniture, pictures and precious heirlooms were being temporarily stored. 

“The second storm kind of caught us off guard. We’re paying around $55,000 just for the home repairs. That doesn’t include all the stuff we lost in the garage,” Monteiro said. 

This is not the first time Winicki has used his roof-sleeping tactics as an incentive for the kids. In 2005, he made a similar bet. 

“We had competitions between the middle school bands of how many would show up at the first high school performance, so we had the most “ Winicki said           

The kids also had the option to pay a dollar to wear PJs and hats to school Wednesday but is there a more profound meaning behind sleeping on the roof? Not exactly.

“I attribute it to a momentary lack of creativity and imagination so that’s what got me on the roof,” Winicki said.

If you want to see for yourself, there’s even a livestream for proof. 

“I guess a 100 people can log on at one time, so I think that’s what we’re doing. So I’m a little concerned about the sound because I snore, so that could be an issue,” Winicki said.

If the school can bring the fundraising total up to $10,000 by the end of school Thursday, Winicki said he will spend another night slumbering on the roof. 

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