On May 7, 2024, a portion of the roof at Shelby High School was torn off due to more than 70 mile per hour winds. The new roof is not yet installed, which has had some parents concerned for water leaks.
“We had the windstorm back in early May, and that caused the waterproofing system on the roof to become disconnected and came off the top, had a major incident, we got it all cleaned up,” explained superintendent Elliott Crump. “After that, we got a temporary roof put on, now that temporary roof stops most of the water from coming through, [but] we still have a little bit of leakage along the main hallway, and so if it rains hard, we'll still get some water penetration into the facility.”
Some parents are concerned for when it begins to snow in a couple months, and how their children will stay dry and warm in school.
The district is ensuring families that this will not be an issue, as the area where some water comes through is in a small portion of a hallway wall and they are actively monitoring it while waiting for the new installation.
“Normally when we get the year started, the janitors have done a fantastic job, everything just looks immaculate. And this year you come in and the majority of the facilities are immaculate, but you go up there and the lockers are out, that panel’s removed, and so it's just it's a little bit of an eyesore. Not the way we wanted to get the year started, but we've made do with the situation, and we understand where we're at right now.” Crump explained.
The process of getting the new roof installation has taken longer than expected, due to insurance companies as well as an engineer inspecting the roof in an effort to figure out exactly what went wrong, in order to better install the new one in an efficient and cost-effective way.
“The most important thing is that we have the first bid and they're ready to start work. Again, I need to get a second bid, see what that price is, go back to the insurance, make sure that they're okay with the cost of doing that, and then we'll be able to get started,” Crump added.
The Shelby School District is working to get the new roof installed before this winter.
