WICHITA, Kansas – Kansas lawns and crops desperately needed it, but a steady downfall of rain Tuesday morning was too much for one Kansas school as flooding forced students to stay home. Officials at Faris Elementary say it was too much of a good thing as water seeped into the school, soaking several classrooms.
Desks at Faris Elementary that should have been filled with students Tuesday morning were instead being used to move supplies to higher ground after water seeped into the school.
“The gym was flooded this morning at 5 (o’clock) when the janitor returned to work, and then we discovered that six classrooms also had water that leaked from underneath the doorway,” said Denise Neighbors, principal at Faris Elementary.
The school saw more than three inches of rainfall overnight, which normally isn’t a problem except in the school’s courtyard, which was clogged with debris. Water piled up outside the school and seeped under the doors, soaking carpets and some books and supplies. Parents were notified early in the morning to keep their kids home. The school also had teachers line the curb to stop parents, who didn’t get the message, from dropping their off their kids.
“It is an inconvenience for parents, but we know that the kids’ safety is far more important than a little bit of inconvenience and we wanted the school to be safe for them,” said Ray Herrman with Hutchinson Schools Public Information.
Throughout the night school officials will have industrial-size fans as well as dehumidifiers working to try to dry out the school. Officials say classes at Faris Elementary will resume as scheduled Wednesday.
