Gulley: Months and millions

A chunk of insulation sits in the hallway from Door 28 on the south side of Jay County Junior-Senior High School.

Carpeting is wet and ceiling panels are missing, exposing wiring above.

Desks in classrooms along the southeast corner of the building are covered in debris while sunlight shines through from above.

Clean-up efforts continued Wednesday morning at the junior-senior high after the building sustained significant damage during Sunday night’s tornado.

“You can see what is very rare for me to see — sunlight,” said Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley, looking up at the sky through areas of the ceiling not yet covered by a tarp while walking through the building Tuesday afternoon.

The short-term goal remains to get students back into the building Monday — classes were canceled on Monday this week followed by e-learning Tuesday and remote learning Wednesday through Friday — with Gulley planning to provide another update to parents and students Thursday afternoon. (The ability to bring back students hinges on getting the heating, ventilation and cooling system up and running.) The long-term will be a much bigger undertaking.

“In my opinion, it’s months and millions,” Gulley said.

An EF-1 tornado with winds of up to 110 miles per hour caused extensive damage at the southeast corner of the junior-senior high. It included ripping holes in the roof and displacing air handlers for the HVAC system. Water and HVAC fluid poured into the interior of the building.

The scope of the work to repair the junior-high wing and IMC (library) that sustained the bulk of the storm damage was unclear less than 48 hours after the tornado hit. (Insurance adjusters have been on site to start the evaluation process.) What is clear is that it will be extensive.

“I see whatever’s happening there as significant,” said Gulley. “And to me, that could mean any of the things we’re talking about — flooring, gridwork, sub-deck structure … roof, HVAC, mechanical, electrical, fire protection, fire detection, fire suppression.

“We just got a project.”

A structural engineer has inspected the building and indicated it is structurally sound, he said.

Returning students to the school will involve utilizing unused classrooms, including those with teachers on prep periods, as well as open spaces such as the gym and its balconies, auditorium, auxiliary gym, commons, pool hallway and adjacent breezeway. He’s asked superintendents who have reached out offering support if they could provide mobile screens and whiteboards on wheels to help facilitate makeshift classrooms.

Gulley added that areas of the junior-senior high and East Elementary School were once “open concept,” similar to what some students will experience when they return to the building.

“So the notion that we’re open isn’t exactly unusual to us,” he said as junior-high administrators worked in their own “open concept” setting in the commons Tuesday afternoon. (Electricity is currently off in the office area.) “It is unusual to the kids; maybe not their parents.”

Gulley said he had been told by insurance adjusters to initiate the acquisition of mobile classrooms, though he had asked for confirmation in writing as well.

A Jay School Board special meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday at General Shanks to consider a resolution authorizing various actions related to the tornado damage. The resolution names the superintendent or his designees as purchasing agents for the school corporation and directs them to take “any and all actions they deem necessary or desirable to address the damages …” It also calls for the superintendent to consult with the board president when immediate action is not necessary, and to inform the board about actions taken.

The project is in the clean-up stage, evident from the rumble of generators and whoosh of vacuums during a walk-through. Staff from Servpro, a firm specializing in clean-up and restoration work following water and fire damage, was working on putting a tarp over the damaged area of the roof, sealing broken doors and windows, drying out and vacuuming liquids, and general cleaning. The firm expected to have its part of the job done this week.

To get students back to school, the HVAC system needs to be functioning. Valves for the systems were expected to be delivered Wednesday.

During an impromptu meeting outside the building Tuesday afternoon, Jay Schools facilities director Gary Cagle explained that the system needs to be pressurized once repairs are complete. Then it will need to run for a couple of days to get the air out to prevent future problems.

Gulley indicated that his goal is to give workers and the HVAC system time.

“If I need the weekend, we’re going to use the weekend,” he said. “If we have to use every available hour over the weekend to give that system a chance to bring itself up to full functionality, I’m going to allow that time.”

Students need to be in school, he said, not only for the value of in-person learning but also for the other support such as meals and extracurriculars that are provided.

“I think the people want to be in school,” Gulley said. “I do think we need to get them back. Kids get fed there … We need to be in school and we’re going to be in school just as soon as I can get the (HVAC) system up.”

While Servpro handles the work that is its specialty, Gulley emphasized that local contractors have been key as well. Mid-States Construction and Muhlenkamp Building Corporation have both been on hand in the building, and Fifer Services worked on removing the debris from trees on the grounds.

“My local contractors get me going this week,” he said. “The recovery of that building, that portion of the building, that’s months.”

“We had local people here where we needed them.”