Leaky Roof Dampens the Beginning of the School Year

Students attending MCHS Shannon Barger’s classes during the 2021-2022 school year likely discussed the looming water spot spreading on his ceiling tiles. Thus the news that his tiles collapsed during the summer was less than surprising, yet that is just the surface of this water issue. The falling water-stained tiles incident has become commonplace in the A wing of Madison Consolidated High School. These roof leaks have not only caused damage to the ceilings of MCHS but it has also caused flooding and damage in multiple areas. 

Though this issue seems abrupt to students and outsiders, it has been blossoming for over a year. It all began on the far end of A wing, in Social Studies teacher Tim Whitaker’s room. The roofing issue started over the summer of 2021 and progressed throughout the school year, causing extensive damage to his ceiling tiles, and eventually, water began dripping down into his classroom. Unfortunately, the leak fell onto his desk and computer as well. Thankfully, nothing had to be replaced besides the ceiling, but his issues were a harbinger of the water damage soon to come. 

After the repair of Whitaker’s classroom, most assumed the roofing issues had been resolved. However, like Whitaker, Barger, an MCHS history teacher, experienced the slow progression of the leak impacting his room. As previously mentioned, it had become somewhat of a talking point in his classes because he questioned students on whether they believed the water stain had expanded. Even though Barger took a comedic approach, the issue finally reached its apotheosis this summer. Barger explained, “I guess this summer, at some point, the entire room was flooded, so the custodians worked day and night to try and get the flood taken care of, clean the carpets, you know, do all that stuff.” 

Kevin Yancey, the Madison Consolidated Building Manager, noted over the weekend preceding the interview that a company would spray the carpets to disinfect and prevent bacteria and mold, which puts Barger’s concerns to rest. Additionally, he added that the room was now experiencing atypical humidity, evident during my interview with him. 

Kristen Kozenski, an MCHS English Teacher,  is the third and hopefully final teacher to experience a significant leak. The custodians located the leak in the storage area between her room and Mr. Barger’s room, informally called the novels room. Over the summer, a leak formed in the room and resulted in flooding, similar to Barger’s. As a result, Mr.Kozenski was tasked with sifting through the damaged books and texts.

“I spent a lot of time making sure books were away and then deciphering what we needed and didn’t need,” stated Kozenski. Unfortunately, the extra cleanup impacted her start of the year by adding additional work to her already hectic school preparation. She illustrated her hopes for improvement by saying, “I hope they will rectify and that it becomes a permanent fix and not something we have to keep worrying about.”

Though conditions seem to have rising consequences, Mr.Yancey offers some hopeful news of repair. He explained that the school put on the A-wing roof his last year as principal. It is made of foam and silicone on top, installed by a company called Insulated Roofing. There was a seam formed when the foam roofing and that seam began to give way and thus caused the leak observed. The school notified Insulated Roofing and sent over a crew to patch the leak, yet the patch did not hold. Due to the significant issues, a complete repair could be on the horizon, yet weather could cause a delay. 

The staff of MCHS has waded through the rapids of this issue for some time. Hopefully, the shore will be in sight soon, and the leak will finally be put to rest within the A-wing.