School closed for Lakeside students due to water damage

Broken pipe discovered Sunday morning

By HILARY MATHESON

Daily Inter Lake

There will be no school Monday for Lakeside Elementary students due to a broken pipe discovered on Sunday.

Teachers and other certified staff will report to work as usual. Classified staff does not need to report to work.

“A water pipe in a classroom broke and flooded almost the entire west wing,” said Somers-Lakeside Superintendent Joe Price on Sunday.

At least six kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms in the wing are “unusable for now,” Price said. Cleanup is expected to continue throughout the week. He said staff will devise a plan to hold impacted classes in alternative locations, or combine classes, so that school can resume Tuesday.

“We plan to hold classes the rest of the week and make some adjustments,” Price said.

A custodian discovered the broken pipe, located under a sink in a kindergarten classroom, around 5 a.m. Sunday Price said.

“We were really lucky a custodian came in to work early this morning,” he said. “If that had gone on another 24 hours we would be way worse off. We have a restoration company in there right now.”

Complete Restoration is working on the cleanup, which has entailed removing or drying baseboards, drywall and carpet.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.