A burst water pipe in the portable building used for the YMCA afterschool program on the Paradise Valley Elementary School campus has forced students to use facilities on two other school sites until the damage can be fixed, according to the Y’s Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Jordan.
“Sometime during the night on Friday (Dec. 6) a pipe that led to the sink in the module burst,” Jordan explained. “No one in the program was there the next day so we didn’t know until Saturday afternoon.”
Jordan said a school employee noticed water coming out of the portable building while walking the campus Saturday. “By then the water damage was pretty extensive,” Jordan said.
Since then, the 35-40 students who attend the afterschool program have been transported by school bus to either Jackson Academy of Math & Music or Barrett Elementary School—both of which have similar YMCA programs on their campuses.
“In the meantime, we’re replacing the cabinetry, floors and flooring covering,” said Jordan, who did not immediately know the total cost of the repairs. “(The students) have been absorbed into the programs we have there (at Barrett and JAMM).”
Jordan said the school district has helped out by supplying the buses to transport the students and parents have a choice of which location to send their child to while the repairs are being made at Paradise Valley.
“They are now part of those programs until the project is finished at Paradise Valley,” Jordan said.
The afterschool program begins immediately after school lets out and lasts until 6:15 p.m.
The repairs are expected to be completed by Dec. 19—the last day of school prior to Christmas break for all MHUSD students—but Jordan anticipates waiting until the new year to begin using the repaired facility.
