FINDLAY, OHIO:
The straight-line winds that hit Findlay on Nov. 5 caused at least $250,000 in damage to Findlay City Schools property, and that total is expected to rise, Superintendent Ed Kurt said at a special school board meeting Tuesday.
At Findlay High School, courtyard windows were blown out, trees came down, the greenhouse was crushed, the auxiliary gym roof was damaged and heating and cooling units on the roof were damaged. Light poles at the baseball field were blown over.
Glenwood Middle School’s roof was also damaged.
The damaged property is insured.
The board passed a resolution Tuesday waiving “the usual procedures for advertising and competitive bidding” for repairs to the auxiliary gym and other high school damage.
Auxiliary gym bids are due Dec. 6, Kurt said, so the repairs can be approved at the Dec. 11 school board meeting.
“We’re expediting as fast as we can the repair of the roof, as getting moisture in the walls of the facility is a huge issue,” Kurt said.
Separately Tuesday, the board approved an appropriations amendment decreasing general fund spending by $270,000, to reflect textbooks being purchased with permanent improvement money instead.
That drops general fund spending from $64,918,218 to $64,648,218 for fiscal year 2018.
The permanent improvement levy was passed in 2006 and generates about $2 million a year. Spending money from that fund on textbooks means fewer capital projects, “but we’ve really put ourselves in a good position the past couple years with some of the major projects we did,” district Treasurer Mike Barnhart said at an October board meeting.
Moving textbook expenses to the permanent improvement fund is one way for the district to attack a projected general fund deficit, which was about $4.1 million before the change in textbook purchasing.
The amendment approved Tuesday also accounts for $140,000 in new grants.
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FINDLAY, Ohio (13abc Action News) -
Findlay City Schools were back open Tuesday. A storm system that produced multiple tornadoes around the region did significant damage to some of the buildings.
All the schools were closed Monday. The high school was the hardest hit. Tonight, we give you the first look at security footage that shows the storm in action.
A lot of the repair work at the high school was done in a matter of hours, but there is not a quick fix for all of the damage. The auxiliary gym could be closed for weeks or even months. Security cameras were rolling the moment high winds hit the gym roof.
Ryan Imke is the Principal at Findlay High School,"It appears the roof is actually lifted up and then went back down in several areas. We obviously have to make sure it is safe before students and staff can go back in that area."
Cameras also captured the sheer force of the wind as it slammed into windows, sending shattered glass everywhere. Ed Kurt is the Superintendent of Findlay City Schools, "We are blessed no one was hurt, and we are blessed no one was killed. The bottom line is that we can fix the school, and we will do that."
Superintendent Kurt says a team from the National Weather Service visited the high school yesterday to analyze the damage, "Right now the National Weather Service is calling what hit the school straight line winds. Whatever it was, I know it was significant."
Even with the students back in class, clean up work continued today.
In addition to the structural damage and the broken glass, Kurt says poles and trees were also bent and in some cases snapped in half, "That's the first 15 feet of a tree. The top of the tree was twisted right off of it."
Part of the roof and some of the heating and cooling units sustained heavy damage. Everything is being assessed, and Kurt says the repair work could be long-term."We have the fear that we might not notice some things until weeks or even months from now. We might not notice that something is broken right away, so we are trying to inspect as much as we can."
Imke says the best part of this difficult situation is how everyone came together to help, "The second the news went out that something had happened students and staff were reaching out to me. They were all asking how can we help, what can we do? So many people were willing to step in and help."
The damage is covered by insurance. At this point there is not a final estimate for the repairs.That number is expected in the next week or so,