Aging West Newbury School Closed Over Roof Collapse Concerns

WEST NEWBURY (CBS) – With so much snow, many people in Massachusetts are concerned about a possible roof collapse. Officials at Pentucket Regional Schools are no exception.

Classes were cancelled through the end of the week to deal with multiple feet of snow weighing on the aging rooftops.

"It was decided the best course of action would be to cancel throughout the week," Superintendent of Schools Jeff Mulqueen said Tuesday.

MulQueen told WBZ-TV the school's roof has a weight capacity of 30 pounds per square foot. It's nearly at capacity now and with more snow predicted he didn't want to risk it.

"Usually between storms there is some melting. We haven't had that luxury this winter season so with the accumulation and the prediction of more so we began to creep into that range where we thought better to be safe than sorry," Mulqueen said.

The superintendent added that this is not the only time an infrastructure issue led to cancelling classes.

Two weeks ago, following the blizzard a pipe burst, flooding the property. Students took both a snow day and an additional day while they waited for crews to clean up.

The same pipe burst in April 2014. The school has also endured gas leaks and days without working water. Students in the high school often have to use facilities at the middle school because there simply isn't enough space.

"We work in an old building. It was built 50-plus years ago so these things are going to happen and they're going to continue to happen," said Ruth Beaton, a psychology teacher at the high school.

Beaton also said the aging infrastructure is compromising the quality of education.

The school district spent nearly $200,000 in repairs during the last year.

Mulqueen is currently in the process of procuring grant money to build a new facility. He worries, however, that the school won't be prioritized as a place in need of repairs since students have had academic success.

Cleanup crews are scheduled to clear the roof Tuesday afternoon. School will resume February 23.

The high school and middle school each have 100,000 sq. ft. of roof space, police said, and snow surrounding the school must be cleared before the roof can be.

The district is now working on a plan to fulfill the 180-day school year, though the plan has not yet been finalized.