Highland Middle School students in the midst of an extended spring break learned Monday that they will be away from the classroom even longer than anticipated because of a fire last week in the school’s kitchen area.
The fire occurred in the overnight hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, forcing students and staff to follow a remote instruction schedule that was only expected to last until the spring break, which began on Monday and will continue until Tuesday, April 2.
But the school district administration reported on Monday that the situation in the school is worse than anticipated and that cleanup work in the school could take as long as 12 weeks to complete.
“The extent of smoke damage throughout the building is more severe than initially anticipated,” wrote Superintendent Joel E. Freer in a letter published Monday on the school district website. “As a result, extensive remediation work, including the removal of ceiling tiles and insulation in corridors and some classrooms, is required to meet the necessary health and safety standards for occupancy. In older areas of the building, this work will require emergency asbestos abatement, which is a lengthy and strictly regulated process during which the building cannot be occupied.”
Freer said restoration experts from ServePro were brought into the school last Wednesday, working to restore the building to a state in which it would be safe for students and staff. A discovery over the weekend revealed that the situation was worse that initially believed.
“In the interim, the administration is diligently working on a plan to relocate Middle School classes to an alternate location. This coordination will require some time. Until then, Middle School students will need to continue with remote learning,” Freer said. “I want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to manage this situation in a manner to provide the best possible scenario for our students. Our goal is to reunite students and their teachers for in-person learning as soon as feasibly possible. I am confident that our dedicated staff will do all they can do to engage and support our students until this is possible. We are committed to finding a solution that provides the least possible disruption to our students and minimizes the impact to other aspects of their school experience, such as participation in sports and other extra-curricular activities.”
Freer said the district has enlisted the help of Quality Environmental Solutions & Technologies, Inc. and United Safety LLC,, specialists in asbestos abatement.
“We know there are more questions than answers at this time,” Freer added. “We will continue to keep everyone updated as we have information to share. We are currently working on a plan to provide our students and staff with their personal belongings that were left at the Middle School and will share those details soon.”
The Board of Education had scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, to discuss the situation.