Girard's Elk Valley School may not reopen until fall as prospects for earlier opening dim
LAKE CITY — With chances of reopening Girard School District's Elk Valley Elementary School this academic year "dwindling," the school's nearly 600 K-4 students will learn remotely beginning Monday.
The school has been closed since a May 14 fire in the building. The fire was contained to a first-grade classroom, but smoke and ash spread throughout the building via the ventilation system.
In addition to smoke damage to the building, a number of textbooks and other materials were destroyed, Girard schools Superintendent Donna Miller told the Erie Times-News.
Miller was at the school as firefighters extinguished the blaze. Seeing it, and seeing the damage since, have been difficult, she said. Miller was Elk Valley principal before becoming Girard schools superintendent.
"Every time we're in there, it becomes more evident that the smoke damage is more extensive than we'd realized," Miller said. "It's been very emotional for us."
With no reopening date known, "the reality of resuming in-person education this school year is dwindling," Miller said in a statement to parents Friday.
Earlier this week: Girard school officials announce that Elk Valley will be closed at least until Friday
It is likely that students won't return to the school until fall, Miller said. Servpro has been hired to clean and restore the school. That work will take a minimum of two to three more weeks, she said.
"It's important to understand that this process is not simply a matter of cleaning up the damage in one classroom, but rather ensuring that our building is restored to the standard and condition that it was prior to the fire," Miller said in her statement.
If the school can be reopened this spring, it will be, she said.
"Rest assured that we will be in touch and will communicate with you if there are any changes to this plan that would afford us the opportunity to bring students back to EVES for even one day before the end of the year," Miller said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has approved the shift to remote learning for the school's almost 600 kindergarten through fourth-graders until Elk Valley reopens.
Parents picked up their children's iPads, Chromebooks and other materials on Friday. They will be able to pick up student lunches and breakfasts at the Girard High School bus circle Mondays and Wednesdays between 4 and 6 p.m.
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Field trips and field days planned for the next few weeks will take place as planned. Elk Valley employees have been working at Girard High School preparing for outings and the shift to virtual instruction, Miller said.
The May 14 fire was caused by heating lamps used to hatch baby chicks in a first-grade science experiment. The fire was reported about 9:30 p.m. Multiple western Erie County fire departments responded.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Elk Valley School may be closed until fall. Kids will learn remotely.
