The freezing temperatures Christmas weekend resulted in water damage at Sugar Creek Elementary, Johnson Elementary, East Limestone High School, and Tanner High School.

During a Tuesday morning special called meeting, the Board declared that emergency action is necessary, including the “letting of contracts without public advertising to the extent necessary to remedy the dangers posed by the emergency.”

The Board authorized the Superintendent to execute contracts on behalf of the Board with the lowest responsible bidders to remedy the damage to impacted schools.

Four classrooms at Sugar Creek are rendered unsafe and unusable when students return if the damage isn’t remediated and the pipes aren’t repaired.

According to Steve Wallace, damage to Sugar Creek is “mainly just ceiling damage, insulation, drop ceilings, things like that” and Johnson only remains in disarray in one small spot of the hallway.

Leaks in the football bathrooms at East Limestone and Tanner have rendered the bathrooms unsafe and unusable when students return if the damage isn’t remediated and the pipes aren’t repaired.

With the start of school on Jan. 4, the schools need immediate emergency repairs to the plumbing and sprinkler systems or the education of students will be impacted.