Roof Work Survives Irene, Rocky Point Schools to be Ready for First Day

With roofwork not yet complete and Hurricane Irene on the way, there was cause for concern this weekendin the Rocky Point School District that buildings would suffer damage.

Irene passed, with not as much rain as expected, and the buildings made it through with not damage as Superintendent Michael Ring assured attendees at the Board of Education meeting Monday night that the district will be ready for the first day of school on Sept. 7.

“If we don’t have any more of these catastrophic events, we believe that everything will be ready," Ring said.

Asbestos abatement was completed at the beginning of August, Ring said, but heavy rains earlier in the month caused flooding in the buildings which caused damage to ceiling tiles, walls and carpets. Since then, the roof had been deemed "water tight" in time for Irene, but that didn't stop the district form worrying.

"We were concerned for all the buildings, but we had no damage to the roofwork that was done," Ring said. " Had it been another six or seven inches of rain we don’t know, but we were assured by the maufacturer that the roof was water tight at that point."