Water damage from storms closes Wisconsin elementary for the rest of the school year

Washington Elementary School in Janesville, Wisconsin, will be closed for the rest of the school year because of flooding from a severe rainstorm.

The Janesville Gazette reporrts that the Janesville School District announced the closure after heavy rains caused significant water damage at the school. Among the areas of the building that have been damaged: the kitchen, cafeteria, art room, mechanical systems and several classroom spaces.

Students in kindergarten, early childhood and grades 1 through 3 are being moved to Adams Elementary. Grades 4 and 5 and the school’s Talk and Learn program will be relocated to Madison Elementary. The district will provide transportation from Washington to the new sites.

"Washington Elementary has extensive water damage, and we are very sorry to say we will not be able to have school at Washington in the near future," Janesville Superintendent Mark Holzman said in a message on Facebook.

About 400 students and 70 staff at Washington are displaced, the district said. Washington is the only school in the Janesville district to be closed because of the storms.