Today's Most Popular Video
Aug 20, 2009 7:44 pm US/Central
Rush To Fix Damaged School Before Opening Bell
NORTH BRANCH, Minn. (WCCO) ―
-
-
Besides the soaked tiles and carpeting, several concrete blocks from structural walls toppled into the flooded hallways -- just one of many factors causing concern for the building's structural integrity.
CBS
Standing outside the moisture-covered windows to their sixth-grade classrooms, Dede Besch and Amy Carney can't believe there could have been so much damage in so little time.
The teachers walked around North Branch Middle School to survey the damage and contemplate how quickly the storm altered plans for the beginning of the school year.
"Things were just falling and shaking. You could almost feel when the roof came back down and the noise was frightening," said Besch.
She was inside her classroom preparing for the upcoming open house when school keeper Randy Koivisto forced her to dive for cover. It was around 4 p.m. on Wednesday when the storm lifted up the school's roof. That compromised the roof's rubber membrane, causing ceiling tiles and water to rain down inside.
Besides the soaked tiles and carpeting, several concrete blocks from structural walls toppled into the flooded hallways -- just one of many factors causing concern for the building's structural integrity.
Standing just inside the damaged section of the school, Koivisto said, "This center section is unsound."
Because of that, all entrances to the school are now posted with "off limits" signs. Only structural engineers and cleanup contractors are being allowed inside to begin the work of assessing the damage and what to do about it.
"I don't know what they're going to do. I can't imagine because there are so many kids in this building, over 1,000 I believe," said Cindy Erickson.
All of Erickson's children attended the middle school and she once worked there as a para-professional.
Wearing hardhats and carrying clipboards, a steady stream of contractors walked into the building, including architects with Kraus-Anderson.
With the first day of school less than three weeks away, school administrators are under pressure and looking at options.
"We're waiting until we find out what the situation is with this building. Then we have many options we can look at for starting school on time," said district spokesperson Patrick Tepoorten.
But just taking a peek inside teacher Amy Carney's classroom captures the true mess and the challenge the district is facing. Cleaning up and making all necessary repairs will be the first big test of the new school year.
"I just don't know how we're going to start the school year, that's the scary part. It takes us hours, probably 16, 18, 20 hours to get ready for open house for the beginning of the school year and I don't know how we're going to do that now," said Carney, less than optimistically.
School officials are advising middle school parents to check
the district Web site for daily updates on the progress of the work and any necessary contingencies in the event the building isn't ready by Sept. 8.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Truckers Sue For Unauthorized Citations
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
