Crews are working to make sure Cassadaga Middle/ High School is safe and dry after the building was significantly damaged in yesterday's wind storm.
Superintendent Chuck Leichner tells 7 Eyewitness News part of the roof was rubber, and that an entire section was peeled off the building during the storm. Many of the vents in the ceiling were ripped off along with the roof.
The district decided to close on Thursday, worried that any potential rain would make it dangerous to be in that section of the building.
"Because our drains and vents were pulled off of the roof, if it had rained we would have had significant damage," Superintendent Leichner said.
The work being done now is just a quick fix to make it safe for students to return to class. The district says it will eventually need to replace that entire section of roof, but does not know right now what all these repairs might cost.
"It's basically going to hold it in place until we get a permanent plan and replacement," Thomas Zanghi, director of facilities for the district, said Thursday. "Hopefully we'll get this set and ready to go and taken care of in the next 6 to 8 weeks."
"At this point, I wouldn't dare throw a number out there," Superintendent Leichner said. "Obviously, it is significant. You could do the math compared to what you might spend on your house. So we've got a big bill ahead of us."
Superintendent Leichner said about 15,000 square feet of roof was damaged by the wind. The district is in contact with its insurance provider to see how much of the cost will be covered.
Cassadaga Valley Schools are scheduled to be back open on Friday.
