Philadelphia school Building 21 closes again 1 day after reopening
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A major setback Wednesday for a Philadelphia high school that was just remediated for asbestos contamination. One day after the school reopened, it was suddenly shut down again, this time due to water damage.
Repairs are underway here at Building 21 to address the water damage in the stairwell.
One family that CBS News Philadelphia talked to says they're frustrated and disappointed.
Eighteen-year-old Matthew Gaymon is once again forced to take classes on Zoom because his school is shut down. He's a senior at Building 21.
"I woke up mad because I saw the email last night," Gaymon said. "I saw the email last night saying we will have to go back into virtual."
The school sent parents a letter saying in part that plaster fell from a third-floor stairwell on Tuesday because of water damage, likely from this past weekend's rainstorm.
The letter also states, "the distance students and staff would need to travel to building exits would not meet code requirements."
So classes will be online for the rest of the week. Sharron Gaymon is Matthew's mom.
"I was frustrated," Sharron Gaymon said. "I was frustrated for my son because he was really excited to go back."
Matthew says life was finally starting to feel normal again when the school reopened for in-person learning on Tuesday. It had been closed for two months for asbestos remediation.
"What needed to be done was the renovations to the school because the building is so old and I've already been in there for four years," Gaymon said.
Within the last few months, five other Philadelphia schools were temporarily shut down due to damaged asbestos. C.W. Henry School, Mitchell Elementary, Frankford High, and Universal Vare are still closed. Mastery Charter Simon Gratz has reopened.
"I know that this school district has such potential. I don't know where the waste is," Sharron Gaymon said. "I don't know where they're falling short with their vision. But they've got to get it together."
The school district says it needs about $8 billion to address aging facilities over the next seven years.
Students will work remotely and administrators said they would provide an update by Friday.
The school closed in March after the district discovered damaged asbestos in wall and ceiling plaster throughout Building 21.
