Weak Roof Forces 200 Students Out of Classrooms

About 200 children were evacuated from their elementary school and moved to makeshift classrooms this week after 41 broken rafters were discovered in the building’s roof.

Fearing a roof collapse at Sherman Oaks Elementary School, 14755 Greenleaf St., John Treadaway, Los Angeles Unified School District facilities chief, recommended that officials close the one-story, seven-classroom building and move the first-, second- and third-grade students who studied in it.

“We made the recommendation reluctantly,” Treadaway said. “We felt terrible about putting those students out of their classrooms. But, if there was a rainstorm or windstorm, we felt the roof could fail. So, to ensure the health and safety of the students, we closed the building.”

Classroom leaks during a recent rainstorm prompted school construction workers to inspect the roof Friday, where they discovered the rafters broken in two, he said. Treadaway said the broken rafters were caused by the weight of rain puddles that, over the years, made the roof sag.

District maintenance director Margaret Scholl said the discovery has prompted officials to check other district buildings built about the same time for similar damage.

Desks Emptied

On Monday, teachers, district employees and parents moved schoolbooks, packed up supplies and emptied desks while substitutes taught in makeshift classrooms, said Principal Sally Shane.

Treadaway said all school buildings were examined after the Oct. 1 earthquake, but he was not certain when the roof last was inspected before that.

Specific problems are investigated when reported by district employees, but school buildings are not inspected on a regular basis, said Scholl.

“There is no formal inspection process where people just go around and look at the shape of our buildings,” Scholl said. “That was eliminated about 15 or 20 years ago with budget cuts.

“When something like this comes up, then that sends up flags,” Scholl said.

The school’s library is housing three third-grade classrooms, with partitions separating the classes. The remaining four classrooms of students were combined with other classes until two portable bungalows containing two classrooms apiece can be set up, said Bill Madson, district area facilities director. Madson estimated that the bungalows would be ready for use by a week from Monday.

The bungalows and library will serve as temporary classrooms until the school building, constructed in the late 1940s, is repaired, Madson said. He estimated that it will take six months to a year to repair.

In the meantime, students must cope with the disruption of school routine. Complaints of illness and flaring tempers were more numerous than usual this week, said teacher’s aide Carol Hakobian.

“Kids this young need a routine to follow,” Hakobian said. “They were uneasy and disoriented, but we’ve tried to talk to them as much as possible and they’re adjusting to it.”

And things aren’t easy for teachers faced with rambunctious students and misplaced school supplies, either.

“It’s been very chaotic, but we have to make the best of the situation,” said third-grade teacher Mikki Doh. “The kids took it much better than we did.”

“It’s fun; we don’t have as much work to do here,” said 9-year-old Mark Hanna.

Oscar Garcia, 8, agreed: “I think it’s fun because we get to move in groups like in junior high.”

But several children complained that it is too noisy in the library with three classes in one room.

“I didn’t agree with it,” said Matthew Paul, 9. “I know it’s because the roof had a crack. But, even though it’s only three classrooms, it gets kind of noisy sometimes, and it’s hard for me to concentrate.”