ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. – Students and staff are expected to return to Escambia County Public Schools this week.
The historic winter weather event that brought more than 8 inches of snow to our region closed schools last week.
Precautionary measures and checks took place on campuses across the district on Saturday.
Several staff members spent the day checking building operations to ensure classrooms were safe.
Escambia County Public Schools Superintendent Keith Leonard says “normal district operations” will resume Monday.
This includes school openings, the return of staff to district offices, extracurricular care activities and athletics.
“This is my fourth school today,” said Kenny Ladner, Escambia County School District locksmith. “We have been working since Wednesday to stop some of these leaks. We have some contractors working on the air conditioning and things like that.”
Ladner said the cold weather broke several water lines in the cooling system and caused numerous boilers to fail.
Another problem caused by freezing temperatures is problems with the plumbing in outdoor portable devices.
“We had quite a few broken water lines leading to portable equipment,” Ladner said. “We have now shut off most of them, only two of them had water inside and most of the leaks were under the portables.”
The repairs are expected to be completed by Monday.
Contractors are currently working on the boilers and air conditioning systems.
“Parents should know that we are taking the necessary steps to ensure school opens safely on Monday,” Ladner said. “There should be no problems or disruptions. School leaders are all aware of what damage has occurred and we are making the necessary repairs to ensure we are ready to go on Monday.”
Ladner said 10 district people worked today to inspect all campus sites and additional contractors were in charge of repairs.