Days missed because of flooding
Morning students: April 20 and 21
Afternoon students: April 19, 20, 21, and 27.
Extended days for morning students began Monday, May 2, and go through May 20, with classes dismissing at 12:15 p.m.
Extended days for afternoon students begin Monday, May 2, through May, 27, with classes dismissing at 4:15 p.m.
FAIRFIELD — Flooding at the Kindergarten Center has caused a logistical nightmare for Fairfield school and city workers, but Principal Kim Wotring said teamwork saved the building from flooding and ensured learning would continue.
Heavy downpours flooded Bach Lane and the school parking lot, forcing administrators to cancel morning classes twice, on April 20 and 21, and afternoon classes on April 19, 20, 21 and 27.
Overall, morning students have missed nine days of school this year due to weather-related issues, and afternoon students have missed 11, she said. The state permits students to miss up to five days per year, meaning morning students have to make up a total of four and afternoon students have to make up six.
Students made up one day already on April 25, which was a scheduled holiday. Approximately 800 students are affected by school cancellations, District Spokesman Randy Oppenheimer said.
“That is the low spot for a great distance around,” he said. “Eventually, water finds the low spot, and even if you pump it a quarter-mile, half-mile away, it’s going to come back.
“You can’t defy gravity.”
At last week’s Fairfield Board of Education meeting, members decided to extend school days by 30 minutes beginning Monday through May 20 for morning sessions, and through May 27 for afternoon classes.
The academic year will end as planned on June 2 for morning students, and June 3 after a half-day for afternoon students.
“I have not heard one parent say that they are not happy about that,” Wotring said. “They are much happier doing extended school days as opposed to tacking on days at the end of the school year.”
One of the reasons the district decided to have extended school days was because it is more academically valuable to be in school at this time of year as opposed to the second week of June, Oppenheimer said.
“By that time, attendance starts to drop off and kids are in summer mode,” Oppenheimer said.
City workers waded through knee-high water April 27, estimating more than a million gallons of water in the area of the school building.
“All the water that we were getting was coming from all the surrounding areas,” Business Manager Chad Lewis said. “We tried a little bit of everything and settled on the sandbagging and tried to make it work.”
The city provided 1,100 sandbags, filling them with a machine it already owned. It saved what could have cost the district $5 per bag.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the city,” he said.
The school has made adjustments to the arrival and departure procedures for students, having them access the school through alternate doors.
“We still have access to the front door, but the with sandbags that are lined up, they block the crosswalk,” Wotring said.
Once the water, which reached two feet at its deepest area outside the school, dries up and the rain stops, the city will be making adjustments to the sewer system outside the building. In the future, when water levels in the surrounding area reach a certain level, there will be a safeguard in place to reroute the water.”
There has been a negligible effect on the school’s budget as a result of flooding, Wotring said, and extending the school day will save money in transportation and staffing costs.
“In making up calamity days, there might be a few additional costs of having to extend the school day, but nothing significant,” she said.
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