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Salt Lake City’s Guadalupe School closed all week after flooding

Posted at 11:18 AM, Apr 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-23 00:53:19-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Reading, writing and arithmetic were replaced by disaster cleanup Monday at Salt Lake City’s Guadalupe School.

Kindergarten through sixth grade classes are canceled for the rest of the week due to a flood that occurred inside the school over the weekend.

Instead of students walking the halls, there are dozens of fans trying to dry the aftermath of thousands of gallons of water that flowed through the building.

It apparently started Friday evening when a water pipe burst in a second-floor classroom.

The water continued flowing at a rate of 2 to 3 gallons a minute for at least 18 hours. Water then flowed into some downstairs classrooms, where it finally triggered an alarm.

Teachers and staff got the word Saturday night, and most were here on Easter Sunday to begin the cleanup process.

The flood started in Victoria William’s sixth-grade classroom, and the teacher said she feels the urgency of getting school re-opened for her students.

“I feel like when they do miss a day it's not just important in the fact that they're missing school, but they're just, maybe they don't have meals at home, or just this might be their safe place to come: so it is disheartening that we do have to cancel school over this," Williams said.

That’s because more than 90 percent of the students attending this school receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch.

Administrators also said the vast majority of the students have parents that work one, two and sometimes three jobs—so they feel it’s critical to get classes back on track ASAP.

The goal is to have school fully reopened by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, adult education classes will be open as usual.

And, last but not least, officials say it will likely be at least another day before they can get an estimate on the total damage.