- There was an open house at Latonia Elementary Monday night so parents could ask questions related to a partial structural collapse that happened New Year’s Eve
- Many parents were concerned about the safety of the building.
- Engineering professionals involved in responding to the collapse argued their assessments had determined the building was safe for instruction
District leaders and engineering professionals had a straightforward message for parents and students of Latonia Elementary at a special open house Monday night: The building is safe.
“I know some folks might have concerns, and that’s OK,” Superintendent Alvin Garrison told the packed cafeteria.
The building’s gym partially collapsed on Dec. 31, so classes were moved online while engineers and structural officials engaged in a controlled demolition of the affected areas and installed stabilization measures. The cause of the collapse has not been determined, and some parents expressed concern about whether the building was safe.
Garrison said multiple professional parties were involved in examining the school post-collapse. Private engineering and consulting firms, the fire department and county planning professionals all signed off on the building’s safety, he said.
“We would not be in this building if this cafeteria and this school was not deemed safe,” Garrison continued.
Casey Hitter is a principal engineer with Advantage Structural Engineers, one of the firms involved in the collapse’s response.
“I would let my own children come back into this school,” Hitter said.
No one was in the building when the collapse happened, so nobody was hurt. Moreover, the cause of the collapse is still unclear: Both district leaders and the engineering professionals said Monday they hadn’t yet determined the cause of the collapse, even if they were confident in their mitigation measures.
Following the collapse, the entire district was moved onto virtual learning to give district officials time to determine when the elementary students could return to Latonia or find an alternative location for classes.
Structural Systems Repair Group and Advantage Structural Engineers were brought in to assess the damage, engage in a controlled demolition of the affected areas and perform stabilization work. Covington Fire, Kenton County Planning and Development Services, insurance consultants and other firms also gave their own assessments of the damage and aided in the stabilization efforts.
Assistant Principal Mike Mencsik gave parents (and reporters) a tour of the school before the Q&A session to allow people to see how things had changed since the collapse. The gym itself is padlocked shut, but much of the rest of the building is still accessible. Arrival procedures for students will remain unchanged, Mencsik said, although the school will now have its morning assembly in the cafeteria, instead of the gym. The after-school program will also continue, although they may need to make adjustments.
Naturally, many parents, especially before the Q&A session, were concerned about the structural integrity of the building. Many were also curious as to the cause of the collapse or had questions about how the damage would affect the school day and extracurricular activities. Safety for the kids, however, was the number one concern.
“Do they know if this is going to be an ongoing issue, if the rest of the building is at jeopardy?” asked one parent, Haley Kays.
“I don’t feel safe for my kids to be on that side of the classroom,” said Tabitha Hatton, another a parent, indicating the side of the building where the gym had suffered damage.
During the tours, several parents pointed out a crack along the ceiling of the upper floor just above the gym, questioning if the crack was a result of the collapse or if it portended more danger. Mencsik didn’t know, but the engineers broached the question directly later. Other cracks in the ceiling and the masonry also stoked worries.
Hitter indicated the structure of the gym and the rest of the building are different, and that the building’s materials (Latonia Elementary was built in the early 70s) in much of the school were subject to expansion and contraction throughout the year as temperatures changed. As a result, such cracks aren’t uncommon.
“That crack we believe was already there,” Hitter said, saying his team examined it shortly after the collapse. “It is a very common type of crack with this type of masonry, the way it’s laid.”
While some parents still had trepidation after the Q&A session, others were more comfortable with letting the kids back into the building. One parent, Brian Ferguson, a construction and industry professional who had worked with Structural Systems Repair Group in the past, said he was familiar with the firm’s work and trusted their judgement.
“The individuals that are doing the hard math, the research, the investigation, they are all licensed professionals,” Ferguson said. “If they are making the statement: ‘It is within the tolerance, the approval,’ they are giving the nod, and it does not hold true, they lose their livelihood.”
Betty Edmondson, the custodial supervisor who was among the first of the school’s staff to respond to the collapse, seemed confident, as well.
“It’s not a disaster, it’s a blessing,” Edmondson said, since no one was hurt.
The firms involved in responding to collapse plan to do bi-weekly inspections for the foreseeable future while the district makes more long-term plans for what should happen to the building. LINK nky will report more as information becomes available.