School district grapples with flooding, power problems at start of year
-
1 of 4By Casey Christie / The Californian
In the administration area of the Standard School District Education Service Center on North Chester Avenue business continued after approximately 850 gallons of water flooded this building after a hot water heater blew up last Friday, August 24th. One week later they are still cleaning up and hoping to have things restored, dried out and new carpets installed soon. Kevin Silberberg, center, is the Standard School District Superintendent.
click to collapse -
2 of 4By Casey Christie / The Californian
Moisture is sucked out of the air by several of these devices placed throughout the Standard School District Education Center after a hot water heater blew up last week, flooding the building with more than 850 gallons of water. Standard School District Superintendent Kevin Silberberg checks the amount of water collected into the waste basket.
click to collapse -
3 of 4
By Casey Christie / The Californian
This hot water heater, right, replaced the old one that blew up Aug. 24, leaking out about 850 gallons of water throughout the Standard School District Education Service Center on North Chester Avenue.
click to collapse -
4 of 4
By Casey Christie / The Californian
There is still a lot of work left to be done in the Standard School District Education Service Center after 850 gallons of water inundated this building when a hot water heater blew up.
click to collapse
By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN
Standard School District's school year isn't starting out so smoothly.
Crews have been busy this week dealing with the aftermath of a water heater explosion Aug. 24 that dumped 800-plus gallons of water throughout the district office.
Two to 3 inches of water flooded the building, ruining carpets and walls, data cables and even several classroom Netbook computers that were delivered hours before the explosion, Superintendent Kevin Silberberg said.
About 60 fans and several humidifiers were brought in to air out the moisture. District staff -- who manage everything from attendance to school data -- have been displaced from their work stations and are working out of makeshift office stations in the Standard boardroom.
"Productivity has gone down," Silberberg said. "But the ship isn't sinking."
The district's insurance is expected to cover most of the cost of damage to the 15-year-old building -- Standard district has a deductible of $5,000. The carpet will need to be replaced. Destroyed were two high-end copy machines and six Netbooks out of a classroom set that was delivered that Friday and placed on the floor.
The flood came just a week after officials at the Oildale-area district had to deal with another unwelcome surprise.
The week before the new school year kicked off, three transformers at Highland Elementary School blew, shutting down power to the campus and the neighboring area on Aug. 16 and 17. Three agencies worked for dozens of hours digging new lines and installing new transformers to restore power to the 800-student campus.
"Bottom line was when the kids came on Monday, nobody knew the difference," Silberberg said.
School officials are hoping the flood was the end of the bad surprises this school year.
"We're praying Labor Day weekend is a non-event," Silberberg said.
-- Jorge Barrientos, Californian staff
Most CommentedMost Popular
A forceful Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced at a tense press conference Thursday that David Sal Silva, whose death earlier this month raised questions about use of force by deputies, died as a result of hypertensive heart disease and was not only intoxicated but had methamphetamine...
The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging...
The Kern County Sheriff's Office is out of control. That's one conclusion many people will draw based on the events of the past two weeks and in the context of recent years.
A draft city ordinance that would have restricted abortion in Bakersfield was placed on hold Monday when the Bakersfield City Council's Legislative and Litigation Committee voted 3-0 to table its discussion indefinitely, and instead, ordered the drafting of a resolution that could be less...
Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week.
A forceful Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced at a tense press conference Thursday that David Sal Silva, whose death earlier this month raised questions about use of force by deputies, died as a result of hypertensive heart disease and was not only intoxicated but had methamphetamine and other drugs in his system at the time of his death.
Classes were canceled at Bakersfield High School Monday after three small bottle bomb explosions struck campus, authorities said.
David Sal Silva’s screams seem like they will never stop.