Mine subsidence to displace Lutheran High School students. Here's what we know
About 150 Lutheran High School students will be displaced due to mine subsidence at the facility on the far west side of the city.
The problems, including cracking of walls and dropping of floors, were discovered by staff members a little over two weeks ago, said Zack Klug, the interim principal.
Subsidence is the sinking of land surface, commonly resulting from underground mining.
The school, founded in 1978, is located at 3000 W. Washington St.
Students' families were informed by the school's board of directors via email Saturday.
Klug, who had been assistant principal under Glenn Rollins, said he received a report from Hanson Professional Services, Inc., a Springfield engineering firm, recommending the move at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
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The board met Saturday morning, Klug said.
"We have a team working with people in the community to secure a location (for the fall semester)," Klug said. "We're leaving all options open (as far as space). There will be school somewhere."
A summer camp has moved to Our Savior's Lutheran School at 2645 Old Jacksonville Road.
Engineers from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund have also done inspections on the school and have recommended the building not be occupied.
Klug said engineers told him a newer part of the high school, dating from 2017, is safe.
Staff will stay there now until a better plan is developed, Klug said.
Julia Frevert, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Langfelder, said the office is aware of the situation.
Klug is a 1994 graduate of LuHi and was a star athlete, later playing basketball at Concordia University Chicago.
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Klug replaced Rollins, who has taken a job with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
"We have to have a positive focus on things and do what we can with the knowledge we have from experts," Klug said. "That's the best we can do at the moment. What they tell us we can do, we will do and that's what we're working for."
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Mine subsidence problems hit Lutheran High School in Springfield, IL
