School is a month away and two El Paso County school districts are still dealing with the destructive hail storm in June. Widefield and Fountain Fort Carson School District both welcome students back mid June. Classes will be ready for students, but hail repair will not be complete.
Widefield District has two elementary schools and Mesa Ridge High School with damage. “We’ve already done a ton of repairs on the roof, of holes in the roof to make sure there is no further leaking,” said Widefield District Communication Director, Samantha Briggs. The district had skylights smashed out and water damage inside schools. There will be monitoring to determine if repairs will suffice or if any of the roofs need to be replaced.
The damage is far more extensive in Fountain Fort Carson District. "We knew right away that all our buildings had been hit. We had 13 schools, three admin buildings," said Fountain Fort Carson District Communication Director, Christy McGee. Administrators, insurance adjusters and contractors are still compiling estimates. There is not an exact dollar amount yet, but the damage will be in the tens of millions.
Fountain Fort Carson is prioritizing repairs that will get kids back to school safely. "Start making a list, and then you drive around with insurance and contractors and make another list and reassess so that’s the process we’re in now is definitely project by project,” said McGee.
Fountain Fort Carson facilities manager say it could take up to two years to fix all the damage from the hail. Both district also have no doubt school will start on time despite on-going repair work.
