Southside School shut its doors Tuesday, forming the second closure in three school days due to mudslides on the road leading into the site.
The school opened to students Monday but only on an “hour-by-hour” basis following closures Friday due to mudslides on Southside Road, said Superintendent and Principal Eric Johnson.
Workers took between 10 and 15 truckloads of mud off the road leading to the school yesterday, Johnson said. The mud continued to slide onto the road.
“Yesterday they were working on the mudslides all day and the (public works) department came out and told me that they could not continue with those efforts today,” Johnson said. “They had other assignments.”
The combination of the lack of workers to haul away the mud and another large storm that was expected to hit the area caused the closure, but now Johnson thinks the storm will hit Wednesday, when the school is planning to open its doors again.
“That’s the irony of the whole thing,” Johnson said. “I have a feeling the storm they were planning on we’re going to get today and tonight.”
Southside School was the only one in the county to shut its doors Friday, though administrators at other sites talked with staff members about closing procedures after a large rain storm swept the area starting Thursday afternoon.
Last week was not the first time heavy rains have caused Southside School to close its doors. About five to seven years ago, the district weathered a similar situation, Johnson said.
Parents were notified of the closure through an automated phone call, the school website, the school Facebook page and team leaders in each classroom.
