While most of us were nodding off after a day of eating, gifts and football games late in the night Dec. 25, a crisis was brewing behind the walls at Chardon High School.
While most of us were nodding off after a day of eating, gifts and football games late in the night Dec. 25, a crisis was brewing behind the walls at Chardon High School.
As a weekend arctic blast left temperatures in the single digits and wind chills well below freezing, a water line leading to a sink in a 300-level classroom burst sometime late in the night, or perhaps in the early morning of Dec. 26, Superintendent Michael Hanlon said.
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Water flooded classrooms on the upper level of one of the oldest portions of the building and poured down into the lower levels, sogging carpets and bursting through ceiling tiles.
“There was significant standing water … and ceiling tile damage in the 100 level, (and) a lot of standing water in the 300 level,” he said in a phone interview Dec. 26.
Although teachers and staff do not return until Jan. 3 — with students returning the next day — Hanlon said the district’s maintenance department responded the day after Christmas and did an amazing job.
“I have to give them incredible praise,” he said of maintenance staff. “We basically have all the standing water removed. All the ceiling tiles and everything are all cleaned up. … I couldn’t be more proud of the work they did.”
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While the team cleaned up all the standing water and most of the mess, Hanlon said a restoration company has been booked for Dec. 27. Once they make their assessment, Hanlon said the timeline for completion of repairs will become clear.
The district retains property, fleet and liability insurance for events such as this, he said.
The high school has a newly-installed roof and after the failure of two bond issues meant to replace or upgrade school buildings since 2019, the district has pivoted to repairing its aging facilities.
However, many issues involving plumbing or electrical infrastructure are still hidden inside walls and remain undetected until something breaks, Hanlon said.
In an email to parents Dec. 26, Hanlon said the district anticipates work to restore the affected spaces will be ongoing through the remainder of the winter break.
“I want to commend our maintenance department staff and administrative personnel that responded to the challenge today by rolling up their sleeves and addressing the monumental clean-up,” he added. “We simply could not have made the progress we did today without the work of this important team.”
