Nearly 20 Classrooms Damaged After Pipes Burst At Hennessey Public Schools

Teachers, administrators and volunteers are scrambling to clean up water damage at Hennessey Public Schools.

Pipes located at the district’s elementary and high school classroom ceilings burst early Tuesday morning due to extreme cold weather.

City employees driving by alerted district officials to the issues after noticing a steady stream of water flowing out of the building’s doors.

“They gave us a call and we came up. The town actually shut the water for us and then we were able to get in and begin accessing damage,” Hennessey Public Schools Superintendent Mike Woods said. “It’s a little daunting when you see so much water running and so many ceiling tiles falling, the damage that it did.”

Woods said, in all, as many as 20 classrooms were affected between the two buildings.

A restoration company was immediately called in to help clean up the mess.

Woods said the district has experienced similar incidents in the past.

Perhaps the worst damage happened in high school math teacher Mrs. Guinn’s classroom. Among the damages was a prized possession: The senior memory wall.

“That really broke my heart, the pictures of the kids but it is okay,” Guinn said. “We salvaged most of them. I’m going to dry them out when I get home and I will hang them back up when I get my room back.”

No dollar amount has been placed yet on the damages. What money can’t buy, however, is the community looking out for each other.

“From the governor’s office down to parents, people that volunteered, groups have reached out,” Woods said. “(I) heard there was a GoFundMe page started. There was a page set up on Amazon. It has just been amazing.”

Students will be learning virtually while the rooms are restored.