Woodland schools prepare for new year

MARBLE HILL, Mo.

When Woodland schools superintendent Bill Biggerstaff arrived for work on the morning of May 13, he found the inside of the building soaking wet and coated with an inch of mud.

"We walked in and saw mud and water, things turned over. Outside the building there was debris everywhere. Water was still standing on the lawn. It looked like a disaster area," Biggerstaff said.

Several weeks of heavy rainfall forced nearby Crooked Creek to overflow, spilling almost two feet of water into the adjoining elementary, middle and high school buildings just three days before the end of the school year.

Much of the drywall, carpeting and tile floor inside the school was damaged beyond repair. In the high school library alone, there was $190,000 worth of damage and more than 1,500 books were ruined.

All 29 computers in the academic lab next to the library were destroyed. Air conditioning and heating units were damaged. The elementary playground fence was washed away.

In total, the damage is estimated above $1 million. The school employed a local cleaning company to help. Biggerstaff said it took 10 days and several machines blowing hot air to dry the building out.

The students never returned for their last three days of school, but they'll be making them up at the beginning of the new school year with a three-day-early start Aug. 14.

It wasn't the first time the school has flooded. Middle school principal Jennings Wilkinson was a teacher at the school in 1982 when floodwaters inside the building reached 4 feet.

"While there was more water in 1982, this is worse in some ways because we have a lot more technology that water really does a number on," Wilkinson said.

Help from community

As in the 1982 flood, the call for help last spring was answered by more than 100 school employees, students, parents and other community volunteers.

"We had people here working with us whose own homes were flooded. They came here to help us instead of taking care of their own property. That says a lot about what kind of community we have," Wilkinson said.

Sixth-grader Shanna Crader, 11, was one of many students from the Woodland School District and other area schools who helped squeegee mud and pump out water from the school gymnasium in the days following the flood.

"It was really muddy, which made it really slippery," Shanna said.

Sixth-grade teacher Linda Whitener has been with the school district 28 years. She witnessed the flood in 1982 and was one of the first people on the scene of this year's disaster.

"It was overwhelming to look at it and think about having to deal with cleaning it up," Whitener said. "There was a lot of broken glass, and the mud made it so slippery. That mud really stunk."

Whitener and other faculty members spent hours mopping up water and clearing away debris, all the while trying to salvage learning material.

Cleanup efforts have been going strong all summer, and the school is now in its final preparations for the start of the 2002-2003 year.

"We will not be able to replace the material damaged in the flood until we settle with the insurance company. So we'll be starting the school year without some supplies," said Biggerstaff.

Filing insurance claim

Settling the claim with Public Entity Risk Management, the school's insurance company, may take quite a while. Biggerstaff said they're currently in stage one of a five-stage filing process.

The lack of supplies will mean some adjustments for teachers and students alike during the first few months of school.

"The biggest thing we're facing is the fact that some teachers will be starting without textbooks and other materials," said Wilkinson. "They're going to have to ad-lib a little."

That includes making do without multiple computers in classrooms, textbooks, worksheets to supplement book work and bulletin board display pieces.

"It's not an ideal situation, but I like to think we have resourceful, creative teachers at Woodland," said Whitener. "We can be innovative and make do until we get what we need."

As for the possibility of future flooding, Biggerstaff said the school board has talked about building a levee but must consult with an engineer to see if it's even feasible.

"The thought of a third flood, that's more than a person can bear," said Whitener. "It boggles my mind to think it might happen again. I think every time it rains, we're all going to be on pins and needles for a long time."

cchitwood@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128