By BRIAN DONOHUE
In an email sent to students and parents Friday, Moore said the Little Silver school will continue using remote instruction on Tuesday, February 17th, and Wednesday, February 18th. Athletic schedules have not been affected.
“While we are hopeful that a resumption of normal operations is possible for the second half of next week, families and students should be prepared for the possibility that remote instruction may continue through Friday, February 20,” the letter states. “We will continue to provide updates as remediation work progresses and more definitive information becomes available.”
Moore said the problem occurred when a roof vent either broke or blew open on the night of February 7, as temperatures plummeted into the single digits. That sent frigid air descending down a ventilation shaft and through a vent hood in the classroom.
“Then because this fume hood sat on top of a sink, it blew apart the pipe for the sink,” Moore said.
Water was sent through the floor of that classroom, and into multiple classrooms on the first and second floor of what he described as a “core academic area” near the center of the building.
Moore said workers estimated the pipe burst sometime between nine p.m. and midnight Sunday. The damage was discovered when a custodian arrived at 4 am Monday.
“This hit us in a really bad spot,” Moore said.
With water soaking the drywall, the sheetrock needed to be ripped out and walls dried with industrial fans. The drywall then needs to be replaced.
The superintendent said multiple agencies are monitoring the remediation work, including the Monmouth County Health Department and state department of education.
RBR was not the only public entity to suffer damage during the recent deep freeze. Schools in Margate and Gloucester Township, a town hall in Warren Township, a courthouse in Camden and town hall in Toms River all had flooding from burst pipes.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
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