A Kennedale intermediate school that flooded over the weekend will remain closed for repairs through the end of the school year and its 380 students will move to two other campuses starting Monday, the superintendent announced at an emergency board meeting Monday night.
The flood, at James A. Arthur Intermediate School on Saturday, turned the first-floor hallways into a river after a major pipe burst, sending water everywhere.
"We have a lot on our plates in a short amount of time,” Superintendent Chad Gee said. "When I pulled up and saw the fire department, the police and about 30 onlookers, and then I saw the water coming out of the building, I knew it was significant."
A restoration company got right to work and the five-inch-deep water is gone now. Still, it's not clear how much damage has been done.
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"It's not a complete loss,” Gee said.
In fact, a manager of the restoration company told school board members 90% to 95% of the items in the school, including computers and many books and other supplies, were not damaged.
Starting Monday, the plan is for sixth graders to go to the junior high. Fifth graders will go to Patterson Elementary.
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The district will ask the state for a waiver so they might not have to make up most of the missed days.
According to state guidelines, only two of the days will need to be made up. The district will do that by adding 10 minutes per day to each school day for fifth-graders and sixth-graders between now and the end of the year.
In addition, students may be required to attend classes on April 25, which was a teachers’ development day.
The initial cost of the cleanup is $400,000, Gee said. The district does have insurance.
