Quincy School District Moving Forward After Tuesday’s Wind Disaster

Quincy School District Superintendent John Boyd gave an update on Ancient Lakes Elementary after a windstorm Tuesday tore the roof off of the school's gymnasium.

Boyd said, "Fortunately our teachers were in the building working in their classrooms, but nobody was outside in the courtyard, so we're very happy about that. Nobody was injured."

The event occurred in only a few seconds, with the corrugated metal roof flying into the school's back courtyard after a series of microbursts. While the district first reported structural damage to the gymnasium, that now may not be the case.

"(Damage) is isolated to the gymnasium alone." explained Boyd, "We think we can get a crew in there to put a roof on it and cordon off the area without much impact to our teachers in remote learning mode, and even when we get our students back."

Teachers will be working remotely for at least the next few days while district staff work with a structural engineer to analyze the damage. All elementary students in the district are still in remote learning, and Boyd said the only adjustment some parents might have to make is contacting the district to find out where to pick up their free lunches.

A resolution has been added to the agenda for Thursday's school board meeting so the district can quickly select a contractor. The district is hoping repairs will only take a few weeks, with the goal of getting the work done before the earliest possible date students could return to in-person instruction, which is currently November 10th.