Oswego East High School students are returning to school in-person Wednesday, after their building getting hit with significant storm damage over the weekend led the school to go to remote learning this week, according to a message Tuesday from Principal Laura Bankowski on the school’s website.
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Per a message posted on the school’s website on Sunday, a drain pipe on the building’s roof malfunctioned, leading to significant flooding in the building at 1525 Harvey Road. Building and district custodians, engineers, tech, maintenance and administration members monitored the situation and worked with outside contractors to mitigate the damage, per the message.
As a result, the school decided to hold classes remotely on Monday, per the message on its website. According to an update posted on Oswego East High School’s Facebook page, school was again held remotely on Tuesday.
A few spaces still require further work, the message from Bankowski on Tuesday noted, but the majority of the building — including all areas used by students — will be open Wednesday.
But Oswego East is not the only building in School District 308 with damage from the storms, according to the district’s website.
Oswego High School also experienced standing water from the storms and is undergoing drying efforts, with portions of the gymnasium unusable for the immediate future, per the district website. One section of Long Beach Elementary School is also currently unusable, and there are minor leaks and water damage at eight other district schools.
The district is working with multiple vendors to get repairs done as quickly as possible, in light of damage happening across the area, officials noted on the district’s website. Air quality monitoring and testing will be happening in all of the buildings that experienced damage to ensure that there is no microbial growth from the moisture.
The district said the recent damage also “highlight(s) the reality of aging buildings throughout the district.” Officials said that they have deferred proactive maintenance in school buildings over the years due to financial constraints, and have had to make “patchwork fixes” because of cooling system issues to avoid an accumulation of moisture and keep temperatures comfortable.
The district said it will be sharing further updates with families and staff on the storm damage situation as the information becomes available.