Thrusday, January 14, 1999
Leaky roofs soak schools
BY BERNIE MIXON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — School roofs weighed down with ice are springing leaks now that melting has begun.
At Finneytown High School and Brent Elementary, maintenance crews have been busy chipping ice and pumping water from roofs. Leaking water has damaged rooms and caused some students to be moved.
On Wednesday, a structural engineer examined the roofs at both the high school and elementary school to make sure the buildings are safe for students.
“The safety of students is our paramount concern,” said Superintendent Don Schmidt. He said leaks also were occurring at Cottonwood and Whitaker elementary schools, but not as badly.
The leaks began Tuesday when the ice began to thaw. Wednesday's rain did not add substantially to the problem, school officials said.
“School systems are cursed with flat roofs,” Mr. Schmidt said. “Because of the ice, the roof was lower than the vents that catch the water,” resulting in the leaks.
Finneytown is not alone with its roof problems.
Water was leaking through roofs at Berry Middle School and Louisa Wright Elementary School in Warren County's Lebanon City school district, a district spokeswoman said.
At Cincinnati Public Schools' Withrow High School in Hyde Park, teachers were told to put plastic over new computers to protect them from falling water.
“The drainpipes were frozen, so when it thawed out, it leaked,” said Dennis Matthews, principal at Withrow. “Our roof leaks anyway, and that made it worse.”
In Hamilton, students and educators were making accommodations for roof leaks in a dozen school buildings, said spokeswoman Joni Copas.
Hit particularly hard was Adams Elementary School, where water had leaked into a computer lab, onto a stage, damaged curtains, and caused floors to buckle and other problems.
“We've had to do some adjusting and shuffling,” Mrs.
Copas said. “Where the leaks weren't too bad, we put buckets to catch the water.”
Back at Finneytown, three classrooms at Brent Elementary were damaged severely, and at the high school, water was pouring through the ceiling in a locker area.
“The custodians and staff had to put a covering over the lockers to make sure nothing inside the lockers would be damaged,” Mr. Schmidt said.
Also at Finneytown High, leakage into a multipurpose room buckled the wooden floor in several places.
Mr. Schmidt stressed that the damage did not extend to work done at either building with money from a recently passed bond issue.
When the weather lets up, the district will look at the roofing situation to determine how much it will cost to have the damage repaired, Mr. Schmidt said.
Enquirer reporter Sue Kiesewetter contributed to this article.
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