North Pulaski High School Tornado Damage
Article published in the Jacksonville Patriot
NPHS students return to school after tornado
North Pulaski High School students returned to school Friday, proceeding with classes and prom despite the April 25 tornado that destroyed about one-third of their school building.
NPHS Principal Jeff Senn assembled the students in the school’s gym Friday morning, so he could explain the new classroom arrangements.
“Pay attention, or you’ll get lost,” he said.
Senn met with department heads, assistant principals and other school leaders April 26 to create a master schedule that moved teachers and students from the 15 classrooms lost to the tornado into other classrooms, as well as into rooms created with plywood partitions in the school’s media center and auxiliary gym.
“Thank goodness no one was here,” Senn said in an interview Friday. “Anything that’s destroyed can be replaced. The teaching will take place. We’re going to be fine.”
The school’s Sandy Reed Auditorium and a chemistry lab on the north side of the building took the brunt of the tornado damage.
The tornado peeled aluminum roofing off the auditorium and lab in strips, twisting some of the strips of metal like twine around nearby trees. The tornado left behind chunks of brick, wet insulation and muddy tree leaves all across the school parking lot, as well as inside exposed parts of the school structure.
Throughout the school, even in the less damaged wings, ceiling tiles were blown out or ruined with water, and light fixtures dropped from the ceiling.
However, the day after the tornado, restoration and electrical companies were already at work on the building. Metro Builders and Restoration Specialists of Little Rock boarded up the parts of the school where walls and roof were destroyed, and the damaged area was fenced off outside.
Inside the school, walls were built to divide the damaged wing of the building from the structurally safe and usable parts to keep students and faculty safe, while also allowing construction workers to proceed with repairs.
Derek Scott, Pulaski County Special School District executive director of operations, said Monday that the tornado caused, at minimum, $2-3 million in damage to the school.
Between coverage from the Central Arkansas Risk Management Association and Travelers insurance, the school should only pay its $1,000 per event deductible to rebuild what was damaged at NPHS, Scott said.
“We’ll keep the main skeleton of the building and put new skin on it,” Scott said.
Repairs should be completed before school starts again in the fall, he said.
Sara Cooke, the stagecraft teacher whose class used to meet on the stage of the auditorium, said she has memories of 20 years of teaching on that stage.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” Cooke said of the tornado’s destruction. “I hope they rebuild and get lots of new stuff. Hopefully we’ll have a lot better facility for these kids.”
Students lost projects that were laid out on the auditorium stage or were stored in the chemistry lab, and supplies got buried in rubble. Decorations students made for the prom’s grand march, which was originally planned for the auditorium, were also destroyed.
Junior Michelle Crook said she was sad to the see the damage, particularly in the auditorium.
“When I saw pictures of the auditorium, I felt like I was going to cry,” Crook said. “Everybody likes the auditorium.”
Julie Buratowski, a teacher and prom organizer, said the Robinson Center in Little Rock stepped in to replace the grand march venue at no charge, and A1 Special Occasions in Sherwood provided free decorations.
The chemistry teacher who taught in the now-destroyed lab for the past 16 years, Marlena Rowe, said she will have to adjust her teaching style for awhile. She will not have lab equipment and will not be able to lead as many hands-on projects.
“I think we can all work together and have a successful and enjoyable end of school year,” Rowe said. “I guess it’s a reminder that you can’t control everything, and so it’s more important to value relationships than material goods.”
