Rainstorms Cause Damage at Schools

As schools throughout the San Fernando Valley took advantage of the dry weather Thursday after this week’s rainstorms and earlier windstorms, Los Angeles Unified School District officials began to tally the financial extent of the damage.

District officials have estimated that the repair bill for roof damage alone will approach $250,000, with most of the affected schools in the San Fernando Valley.

“We haven’t had that much [damage] from other areas,” said Lynn Roberts, director of maintenance and operations for the district. “I guess the Valley just got really hit.”

Roberts said about 30 Valley schools suffered some form of damage from the heavy rains. Much of that damage, she said, could have been prevented if the district had had the money to perform preventive maintenance.

At Maclay Middle School in Pacoima, where a Jan. 6 windstorm blew off parts of the roof and left gaping holes in 19 classrooms, leaking water Wednesday forced dozens of students and their teachers to double up in classrooms or crowd into the school’s library and multipurpose room.

“We’re using every single available space we have, and we’re just hoping the rain stops long enough for us to get the roof repaired,” said Cecilia Costas, Maclay’s principal.

In addition to the 19 classrooms, the nurse’s office at Maclay was also badly damaged in the rainstorm. The ceiling buckled and was on the verge of collapsing, the principal said.

At Van Nuys High School, Assistant Principal Jack Molina described the damage as a “minor inconvenience.”

Roberts said other Valley campuses that suffered damage are Madison Junior High in North Hollywood, Hillary T. Broadous Elementary in Pacoima, Langdon Avenue Elementary in North Hills, San Fernando High in San Fernando, Francis Polytechnic High in Sun Valley and Monroe High in North Hills.

The school district has no outside insurance to cover the repair bills, Roberts said. Repairs will be paid out of the LAUSD’s deferred maintenance fund, which includes a combination of district and state funds.