GILL — Students and staff at Gill Elementary School got a day off yesterday — but it wasn’t because of snow. Around 7 a.m. on Monday, staff at the school found the basement was flooded.
Thirty-two inches of water jeopardized the heating and electrical systems, causing the school to close.
While the cause of the flooding has yet to be determined, the district is not planning for more cancellations, according to Superintendent Michael Sullivan.
“We don’t want this to interfere with the students’ education,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to accommodate them across the river in Montague.”
Students will still be doing drop-off at Gill Elementary, but will be boarding buses to Sheffield Elementary School, Hillcrest Elementary School, and the district’s Central Offices shortly after, Gill Elementary School Principal Conor Driscoll announced in a post on the school’s Facebook page.
Kindergarten will be taught in the Hillcrest library and first grade will be in the Hillcrest art room. Second grade will be in the Sheffield library, third grade will be in the Sheffield computer lab, and fourth grade will be in the Sheffield art room.
Fifth and sixth grades will be brought to the Central Offices, located in Sheffield. Fifth grade will be in the professional development lab and sixth grade will be in the conference room.
During this time, students will be joining Hillcrest and Sheffield for breakfasts and lunches.
Driscoll advised that parents and guardians who would rather drop their children off can do so at 9 a.m. at Hillcrest, located at 30 Griswold St., for the kindergarten or first-graders, and at Sheffield, located at 43 Crocker Ave., for children in grades two through six.
Students taking the bus home will be picked up at either Sheffield or Hillcrest, and will be brought home as normal. Because the bus routes will be reversed, Driscoll warned that students who are normally late on the bus route will arrive home earlier and vice versa. In both locations, Gill Elementary School pick-up will be slightly delayed, and will be at 3:20 p.m.
All calls to Gill Elementary will be forwarded to Marie Hutchison, who will be working at Sheffield.
Driscoll said it appears that Gill Elementary’s well system over-pressurized, resulting in nearly 3 feet of water flowing from the storage room into the boiler room in the basement, completely submerging all equipment in that room and damaging supplies.
“The good news is that the water missed the main electrical systems by about an inch and a half. Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. The boiler and hot water heater were submerged, and need repairs before they can be operational,” Driscoll said. “We are still not sure what caused the over-pressurization in the first place, and need to be sure it won’t happen again.”
Pumps removed water from the basement throughout the day, according to Gill Fire Chief Gene Beaubien. Work on the system was able to begin in the afternoon on Monday.
Sullivan said there are currently staff from the town of Gill, plumbers, heating specialists, representatives from the well company for the school, and school district facilities staff working to resolve the problem.
Driscoll noted his appreciation for the Gill Fire Department in his Facebook post about the flooding.
“It was not a warm day to get wet, and their work helped prevent a problem from becoming a disaster,” Driscoll’s post reads.
Repairs to the system may take some time because it’s old and finding parts may be a challenge, according to Sullivan.
Sullivan also advised the school district will be providing frequent updates via email and on Facebook.
“It’s a good plan for the short term,” Sullivan said. “We will know more in the coming days in regards to how long this problem will last.”