Flooding at Quincy High won't affect reopening next week

QUINCY – Though there’s never a good time for a flood, school administrators are relieved that a flood over the weekend at Quincy High School at least came in the middle of the holiday break.

Seventeen classrooms and some administrative offices in Quincy High School’s “D wing” took on as much as an inch of water Sunday after a chemical-distribution system on the second floor malfunctioned, school principal Lawrence Taglieri said.

The school, which opened in 2010, is located at 100 Coddington St.

Taglieri said all the floodwater was removed Sunday, and crews were back in the school Monday to clean and dry the carpets in the offices. He said the classroom and hallway floors are tiled and have already been cleaned.

Taglieri said he’s not sure if classes would have been canceled if school had been in session Monday. Students and teachers have been on break since last week and don’t return until next Monday.

“There’s no school anyway, which is a good thing,” School Superintendent Richard DeCristofaro said of the timing of the flooding.

DeCristofaro and Taglieri said the cleanup will be finished by today and won’t affect the reopening of school next week.

Taglieri said he was notified of the flooding at about 1 p.m. Sunday. He said the flooding occurred when a valve broke off the chemical-distribution system, which is located in a custodian’s closet on the second floor.

Taglieri said no chemicals were released as a result of the malfunction, and only water flooded the first and second floors of the wing. He said he’ll be in contact with the equipment’s manufacturer to make sure the problem is resolved.

Taglieri said other than the office carpets needing cleaning, property damage from the flood was negligible.

“Well probably need a little (new) paint on the first floor,” Taglieri said.

He said staff who work in the offices and the teachers whose classrooms flooded will be notified of the flood this week and will have the option of surveying their rooms before next Monday.

Quincy High School is the second-newest school building in the city; a new Central Middle School opened last year. The city opened the $126 million Quincy High School in 2010 next to the old high school, which has since been torn down.

Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.