Construction to repair a water-damaged wing of Columbia Falls High School is on track to be completed soon, with displaced staff and students moving in Oct. 25. 

The school faced a rocky start and quick planning before students arrived for the first day of school Sept. 3 following a roof replacement, small fire and rainstorm that flooded the east wing.  

While that section of the building undergoes repairs from the water damage, hundreds of students are bussed daily to Glacier Gateway Elementary and the former Canyon Elementary building for some classes. Staff and students moved to a block schedule, which means longer, but fewer classes a day on an A-B rotation.  

“It’s a different way of teaching, different way of organizing a day,” Columbia Falls School District Superintendent Cory Dziowgo said. 

The added workload and loss of a planning period for teachers led to a memorandum of understanding being drawn up between the district and Columbia Falls Education Association to provide a $252 stipend to certified staff members. 

Columbia Falls High School Principal Josh Gibbs said students and staff have done a great job adapting. It was also trial by fire for Gibbs, who is in his first year as the high school principal. 

During a building tour Sept. 17, the sound of power tools reverberated through the school. A temporary wall has been put up on the first floor, not far from the main office, to separate students from the construction zone. Upstairs, crews from Belfor Property Restoration were in full force in hallways and empty classrooms in various states of repair to finish the project by the deadline.  

The administrators said an “industrial hygienist” is ensuring everything is dry before installing the ceiling and drywall. 

"They're making sure that it's ready to be put back so everything's dry, any chance of mold has been remediated, and it's good to put back,” Dziowgo said. 

Everything will be moved in at once. 

“Belfor will aid in that transition and schedule that in and have the workers to help organize or orchestrate what needs to go and that kind of stuff to get their rooms back together,” Gibbs added.  

Gibbs said the water-damaged section contained the bulk of academic classrooms.  

“It’s our classroom link,” Gibbs said. 

The social studies department moved to Glacier Gateway where five classrooms were available. Glacier Gateway Principal Penni Annello said bringing in the high school students has had a minimal impact on the elementary and that it’s been a good experience. 

The English, business, French, science and family, and consumer sciences moved into the Canyon Elementary building. This building was largely being used for storage and housed a health clinic Gibbs said. Before students moved in, additional cabling and internet were installed and classrooms cleaned up with some water damage addressed.  

The remaining classes continue to be held at the high school in rooms unaffected by construction. The wrestling room, for example, was turned into a classroom with plywood placed over the mats to protect them from desks. The library has been divided up with partitions to move special education classes into a quiet space. 

With bathrooms out of commission in the affected wing, students and staff are using a mobile restroom trailer stationed right outside the school. An ADA toilet was also stationed outside the library. Storage containers were also brought on-site and the greenhouse has been used to store chairs. 

Dziowgo commended staff and students for adapting to a challenging situation. 

“Really, it’s been tough for the staff. They’ve been super flexible and understanding, and creative to solve the issues. We’ve been very student focused on what we can do. What’s best for the kids and how to make that happen,” he said. 

“These are the manageable challenges that we’ve been dealt with, with the flood and the restoration of the building. We’re happy that it’s going back better than it was," he said. 

Repairs will bring the affected part of the building up to code, estimating it was built in the 1950s. He said repairs include new electrical, fire-rated Sheetrock, a new fire detection system, asbestos abatement and replacement of flooring tiles that were curling under the water. Asbestos poses a health hazard when materials are disrupted. Cabling was also replaced.  

“It will be a safer building when we’re done here on Oct. 25,” he said. 

He said computers, smart TVs and stoves in the life skills classroom were also water-damaged. 

THE WATER damage occurred during a storm that dumped a couple of inches of rain in Columbia Falls over July 30-31 while the roof was under construction. Not enough tarps were used, which let water in, according Dziowgo 

“We were using 4 by 8 sheets of plywood to push water down the hallway,” he said, describing the water flowing down the stairwell.  

When he saw the damage, “My biggest thought went to ... what are we going to, how are we going to make a good learning environment for our 700 Wildcats? A lot has come together in six weeks.” 

The water damage came after a minor fire on the roof in July. 

“It was during that heat wave, so we had hot materials up on top," Dziowgo said. 

With a white membrane removed from the roof, he said it revealed black material underneath. 

"If you go back to your science, the black absorbs. So now we’ve got black [material] just absorbing all that heat and it just hit a critical flashpoint and lit up,” Dziowgo said, although a cause hasn’t been relayed to him.  

He said water damage from fire hoses was minimal, and despite a delay in completing the roof project, the school was prepared to start the school year as scheduled when the rainstorm occurred.  

“We had a construction meeting, Mr. Gibbs and I, and things were looking good. We were going to be short four to six classrooms. So, on the 24th of July we left that meeting [saying], hey we’re going to just make some little bit of adjustments to the schedule. Josh really wasn’t 'working’ yet, but he was in town and then it rained that following Tuesday,” Dziowgo said  

The original roof replacement, which is completed, was funded by a $2.75 million bond. The school and the contractor, Swank Construction, are working with insurance to determine cost and liability for the water damage and subsequent costs such as the additional bussing, for example. 

"We’re just appreciative of the community and their understanding. Change is different and difficult, but kids are in school,” Dziowgo said. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].

  

 Ceiling tiles are replaced inside one of the classrooms at Columbia Falls High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    A classroom set up inside the wrestling room at Columbia Falls High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
  

  

 Work continues inside one of the classrooms at Columbia Falls High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Superintendent Cory Dziowgo descends a staircase inside the classroom wing of Columbia Falls High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. A late-July rainstorm caused significant water damage after ongoing roof construction left the wing exposed. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Work continues in one of the hallways inside the classroom wing at Columbia Falls High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Chairs and other items are temporarily stored inside a greenhouse outside Columbia Falls High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The classroom wing of the school was soaked by a late-July rainstorm after ongoing roof construction left the wing uncovered. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider