Two Schools in East Hampton Closed

Update:

Crews were busy clearing the roof at Center School on Friday while children there and at Memorial School were treated to an unexpected day off.

After a preliminary inspection of the roofs at Memorial and Center schools, the structural engineer had some concerns which led to the cancellation of school on Friday as a precautionary measure. The final results of the inspection were expected to be turned into the school superintendent's office on Friday.

Regardless of the contents of the report, the clearing of all the school roofs had been planned and was being carried out.

As for another lost day of school, the East Hampton Board of Education is expected to discuss the issue of mounting "snow days" at its meeting on Monday.

New concerns over school roofs in the state continued on Friday

In Portland, the high and middle school was evacuated and kids and staff sent home when a crack appeared in the ceiling of the cafeteria. Moody and Bielefield elementary schools in Middletown also were evacuated and all activities at Middletown schools were canceled through the weekend for snow removal efforts, and the roofs over the library and auditorium at Enfield High School were noticed sagging.

The closing of the elementary schools in East Hampton did not go off without a hitch, though.

Some bus drivers never got the word.

It turns out Nichols Bus Service was never informed about the closings. Still, most bus drivers found out through the AlertNow system used to inform parents of closings, delays, early dismissals and other emergency situations.

In the end it appears to have been only a minor inconvenience, but one the superintendent's office apologized for, according to Nichols Bus Service.

Original story

Two schools in East Hampton will be closed Friday over concerns stemming from snow and ice on the roofs.

With several roof collapses occurring throughout the state, East Hampton has been taking steps  to clear and inspect roofs on school buildings.

The high school and middle school got passing grades on their inspections and the snow will be removed. However, after the inspections moved to Memorial and Center schools, parents were informed late Thursday that those schools would be closed on Friday while their roofs are evaluated further. What the inspections might have uncovered or what concerns there are over the roofs is unknown by Patch.

When asked earlier Thursday about the school roofs, superintendent of schools Dr. Judith Golden described the efforts underway, and said "We're on top of it."

"There is a structural engineer, a building inspector and our facilities man [town facilities manager] Frank Grzyb inspecting all of the schools. The high school has been deemed fine. The middle school roof has a little bit of flex, nothing dangerous, but we have closed the gym. They are going to clear the snow off. And they have moved onto Memorial and Center School.

Dr. Golden couldn't say more about the two elementary schools until she heard back on the remaining inspections.

She also mentioned there has been some water leaking at the high school, but said it was not from the roof. Rather, it had to do with ice and snow getting into the intake vents.

Schools in Vernon, Ellington, Stafford, Naugatuck, Ansonia, Trumbull, Willington, Derby and Monroe were closed Thursday over concerns about snow and ice on roofs and to clear them. Oxford will be closed Friday.

"We felt the weight is close or exceeding the design limit," Ansonia City Engineer Fred D'Amico told the Connecticut Post.

On Thursday, Gov. Dannel Malloy reiterated his warning about snow buildup on roofs.

“I cannot say it enough – people need to be vigilant about clearing their roofs and they need to be smart about it,” he said. “People might think I sound like a broken record, but the collapse [Wednesday] of several building across the state – in addition to the structures which have collapsed over the past few weeks – illustrates the real need to go out there and get this done prior to another storm that is forecast to hit Connecticut on Saturday.

“This goes for homeowners, business owners and municipal leaders, too.”

Patch will continue updating this story.