Click here to read the latest update regarding the situation at Oxford High School.
The link will open a letter from the school district, which says an update on cracks found in walls at Oxford High School is due Sunday.
Story from Friday afternoon follows:
Oxford residents are being urged to keep tuned to the school district’s website and to their telephones for a “Code Ed” update at the close of business today (Friday, Feb. 4) to find out whether Oxford High School and other schools will be open Monday.
Schools were closed Friday to clear snow off roofs after cracks were discovered in the outer walls of Oxford High School Thursday night.
“I hope schools will be open but I can’t make a definitive answer, we’re still analyzing the situation,” Edward Malvey, the new superintendent of schools, said at 2 p.m., after a structural engineer completed an examination of Oxford High School.
Malvey said he was waiting for the results of that examination, which could come later in the day or possibly Saturday. He said he would use the website and the Code Ed communications system to update the community.
In the meantime, workers were clearing snow from all the roofs, something that had been done only at one school — Oxford Center School — on Thursday.
Custodians were making arrangements to have the Oxford High School roof cleaned before they discovered the cracks.
The increasing number of snow days is also a thought many school parents have on their minds. Malvey said the April vacation will be cut into first, before extra school days are added in June.
The important thing is to keep the community apprised of the situation now, he said.
“I’ll apprise people of what’s going on and whether we’ll be on a full schedule, or make adjustments,” Malvey said.
Original post from earlier today follows:
Officials hope shoveling off the snow at Oxford High School will resolve the problem that resulted in cracks forming in the walls, according to the chairman of the high school building committee that oversaw construction of the five-year-old school.
“My gut tells me they have to get the snow off there and everything will be fine. Get the snow off there first,” said Ed Hellauer, an engineer who served as chairman of the building committee.
The roof won structural design awards at the time and is considered very strong, structurally, Hellauer said. The cracks can be repaired, he said. However, it is possible the membrane of the roof may be overburdened by the weight of the snow and ice. and is causing other materials to crack.
“It should have been shoveled off, I don’t know. But the roof has been on over five years, the building has been tight for more than six years. It has been a rough winter,” Hellauer said.
School officials were taking no chances with the snow on the roofs.
School was canceled in the district for the day, with workers going out to clear snow off roofs.
By 11:30 a.m., school officials were waiting for a structural engineer to inspect the high school, said Rose McKinnon, chairwoman of the Board of Education.
It was not clear how the roof concerns would affect activities at the school in the days to come.
For example, there were to be meetings at the high school Monday for staff, parents, the community and elected officials to meet the new school superintendent, Edward Malvey.
That plan may change depending on how the inspection goes today, McKinnon said.
“We are concerned about all the roofs,” McKinnon said.
The roof cracks came as a shock to the Board of Education, but they were not pointing fingers Friday at design or construction firms involved in building the high school.
“It has to be investigated, to see what transpired,” said Lisa Hellauer, a member of the school board who is married to Ed Hellauer. “Nobody would have expected this to happen.”
First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers said Fire Marshal Scott Pelletier has been placed in charge of the scene, in his capacity as the town’s emergency manager.
Pelletier said the custodians did inspect for snow Thursday, and were making arrangements to have it cleaned. Only the Center School was cleared of snow Thursday.
