Irene Flooding To Force Newark Students Out Of School Building
NEWARK, N.J. (CBS 2) -- Flooding in New Jersey is forcing students out of their school and Tuesday, on the first day, they will have to be bused to other schools.
District officials said it is unsafe for students to be inside the Wilson Avenue School in Newark. Flooding, they said, has caused dangerous mold to form inside.
That's why they are busing kids to other schools in Newark and Belleville on their first day back. Some parents are angry.
"I don't support dropping up the bomb on a Saturday afternoon with a phone call," Anabala Silva told CBS 2's Christine Sloan.
Steve Morlino, Executive Director of Facilities Management for the Newark School District, said it was a "health and safety issue" and there was "no choice."
"The problem is that water infiltration from Hurricane Irene got into the building. That water did not dry out as quickly as it should've," Morlino said.
For students it's tough. They went through the same thing last year when environmental crews found high levels of benzene and petroleum inside the school.
"I think it's really bad because this is happening every year," student Brian Silva said. "I do not want to do this again."
"There's nothing that we can do about it, so we're just going to have to," another student, Jessica Ontaneda, said.
Many parents say they'll be at the school Tuesday morning to protest and some say they won't be sending their kids to school.
The district also plans on holding a meeting for parents Tuesday. Officials said they're not sure when the school will be safe to go back into.
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