More than two months after sustaining extensive flood damage, Minchau Elementary School in southeast Edmonton is open to students again.
The school reopened on Tuesday morning. It comes after the school flooded over the winter break.
“That was a big effort over the spring break by a lot of people but we got there and the kids are in there this morning,” said Chris Wright, managing director of infrastructure with Edmonton Public Schools.
“It really did take a whole village to get them back in.”
READ MORE: Flooding forces temporary displacement of students at Minchau Elementary School
The flooding was discovered on Jan. 1. The elementary school was one of 11 Edmonton public schools that experienced flooding after pipes burst during wild temperature swings.
Nearly the entire school, with the exception of the gym and s portable classroom, was under about two inches of water. Carpet, flooring and other fixtures had to be removed and replaced.
“That’s all done now and it looks great,” Wright said.
The damage forced all 300 students to attend class at Jan Reimer School in the Orchards while the repair work was underway.
Watch below: Flooding in several Edmonton schools meant some students couldn’t return to their school after the Christmas break. (Filed January 2017).
The school board anticipated the work would take 10 to 12 weeks and everything was completed on schedule, Wright said. At the time the damage was reported, the cost of the repair work was estimated to be in excess of $500,000.
“We don’t have a finalized cost yet. We’re still working with our insurance adjusters to get those details sorted out,” Wright said. “Insurance is covering the costs of getting the school back up and running.”
Wright said there was no interruption to students’ learning through the entire process.
“The students moved right into Jan Reimer first day back after the new year and moved right into their renewed environment today at Minchau, continuing straight on, so no impact.”
More to come…
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