JACKSON’S MILL, W.Va. — More than 400 Lewis County middle school students are making Jackson’s Mill their home for the school year after July 21 floodwaters damaged Robert L. Bland Middle School in Weston.
Classes began Tuesday at the WVU-owned historic property a few miles from Weston.
Lewis County School Superintendent Carolyn Long said they considered several options and thought Jackson’s Mill would be ideal if university leadership would allow it. Long said WVU President Michael Benson agreed almost immediately to allow them to use the property and the planning began.
“They have helped us kind of change the look inside the cabins to make them look like classrooms,” Long said Wednesday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “They have some already wonderful classrooms set up, especially some science labs they use for camps and 4-H.”
Long said the faculty and staff have embraced the plan and supported it completely. The regular cooks are making serving lunch for the 450 students in two sittings on-site and the students seem to approve.
“The librarian has set up a portable library on wheels,” Long said. “Everyone is being very creative in what they’re doing.”
The day one observation by the students was the increased amount of walking required on the Jackson’s Mill campus, to which Long replied, “We’re all going to walk a few more steps this year and be healthy.”
Meetings were held with the families to prepare them for things like the weather and the historical significance of the property and the need to preserve it.
“If it rains, we’re still going to have to get from class to class, so we’ll need slickers and umbrellas,” Long said. “In the winter we need to make sure we have boots, hats, coats and gloves.”
The rehabilitation plan for the damaged Bland Middle School remains unclear. Long said the building sustained structural damage, extensive electrical infrastructure damage and contaminated mud under the building. A structural engineer has inspected the building, but the damage is so extensive a cost estimate is not available.
“It was stage 3 contaminated mud that came through and was under the building,” Long said. “It’s still there actually and most of it has hardened but when it rains again it gets wet–we’re back to square one.”
Logan said Bland opened in 1966 and many codes and standards have changed that will likely drive the cost of repairs or replacement out of reach. Long said they are working to get officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to evaluate the damage and get a commitment to help with financing the repairs or replacement.
“We are waiting on federal people to let us know what the next step is,” Long said. “Are they going to come in and take a look, because no matter what happens, this is going to be an expensive proposition?”