Lincoln Elementary parents demand answers as school remains closed after Aug. 11 storms
A Northwest Indiana school remains closed for in-person classes after sustaining damage stemming from last month's severe weather.
The closure is leaving many parents from the school's community frustrated.
Just by looking at Lincoln Elementary in East Chicago, Indiana, one wouldn't know the problems inside.
However, the school's superintendent, Stephen Bournes, said they're still recovering from the August storm that hit Northwest Indiana with heavy rain and left residents without power for days.
District leaders say it left Lincoln with standing water, a broken pump and a failed HVAC system, making it unsafe for students to return.
The district held a town hall to update parents.
"We have some preliminary costs that haven't tipped over half a million, but there are extensive," Bournes said.
While most parents came to the town hall wondering when the 285 students at Lincoln Elementary would return to their school, they did not get a date. The superintendent says it's simply too early to say.
"Now we will be held accountable because we told them a date and we can't. We're not HVAC experts," said School City of East Chicago Board President Maria Mercedez Taylor.
One school member provided CBS Chicago with images from inside Lincoln Elementary. She contends the water inside the school is nothing new.
"My pictures suggest that this water in the basement at Lincoln has been there for some time," said Patti Jo Gibson-King. "The concern I have is that they want to put this on a storm we had August the 11th."
Gibson-King says Lincoln has been neglected for much longer and when she tried explaining that some parents did not want to hear about the past.
Things got heated when parent Christopher Vincent demanded solutions.
"Let's talk about the children. Let's not sit and talk about when you were not on the board and when you weren't on the board you on the board now, let's do something about it."
District leaders say tests must be done first to make sure the air is safe to breathe after all the standing water and the superintendent says repairing Lincoln and doing it correctly is worth the money they're spending.
