After the May 21 tornado ripped through Reading, some residents were worried there would not be enough school children to justify keeping Reading Elementary School open.
Three months later, it turned out there was no decrease in student enrollment. In fact, six more students have signed up to go to school starting Friday than last school year.
“It’s really cool we are not losing one student,” said Principal Peggy Fort. “We had one family move but they didn’t have any students. Our enrollment has gone from 70 to 76.”
Some students are currently living outside of Reading and will need rides from parents to and from school.
“But a lot of those will come back to town,” Fort said. “Their homes may not be ready until December so they will have to commute until then.”
The last day of school in Reading was May 21, giving students about five hours of summer vacation before an EF-3 tornado directly hit a swath of town.
While almost every home and business in town has some degree of damage, structurally the school building held up well.
Two days after the storm, the school had electricity, functioning bathrooms and air conditioning. Emergency officials used the school as base of operations for about a week. Over the summer it also served as a meeting place, supply distribution area and community gathering venue.
The building did not go unscathed. The tornado tore a hole in the roof over the stage and broke many windows. The fabricated roof portion of the building had all the seams raised. Debris was inserted and then the seams came back down.
A two-by-four flew into the room used for computer and speech therapy. It smashed the computer and poked holes in the wall.
Fort estimated that about 80 percent of the repairs have now been made and the rest should be completed shortly
“All of the classrooms are ready, the lunch area is fixed and the playground equipment is all set,” she said.
The gymnasium is still out of commission. The roof was weathered in the week after the tornado but permanent roof repairs are ongoing. It should be another month before it’s ready so students will have physical education class outside for the time being, she said.
“We were able to save the gym floor,” Fort said. “We will have to sand it to get it ready.”
As far as damaged equipment, Fort said they were lucky. The computer in the speech therapy class had to be replaced and they lost sound system equipment and tables that were on the stage during the tornado.
Fort said the building and contents were fully insured so North Lyon County School District’s only out-of-pocket expense was the deductible.
Outside some bushes were torn up in the storm. A Boy Scout earned a badge by cleaning up and landscaping that area, Fort said.
The importance of keeping a school alive in a small town has been emphasized during the rebuilding process. Fort said during rebuilding meetings it has come up how much the school means to Reading.
“We don’t have a lot of businesses so the school is the focal point,” Fort said. “When we have PTO suppers or ball games, almost everyone in town attends, even if they don’t have students involved in those activities.”
Fort said the teachers are really excited to start classes Friday. She thanked the teachers and custodians for getting the place ready.
“It’s exciting to start the school year,” she said. “I think the students are excited to come back.”
Denise_Dorcey (anonymous) says...
Oh yeah!!!!!
August 24, 2011 at 5:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
christym123 (anonymous) says...
Yay!! That is so great!
August 25, 2011 at 8:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )