The flood-damaged Pajaro Middle School will remain closed for the entirety of the next school year as work crews make repairs, Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez told parents in a May 8 letter.
Students from Hall District and Ohlone elementary schools who are entering sixth grade will remain at their schools, while the Pajaro Middle School students displaced this year will continue at Lakeview Middle School.
Rodriguez says that drying and removal of damaged items is expected to wrap up in June.
The district will then develop a construction plan, which is expected to be approved by the California Division of State Architecture in December. Work will start immediately after that, Rodriguez says.
The middle school, located at 250 Salinas Road in Pajaro, was severely damaged by floodwaters after the Pajaro River Levee breached during heavy rainfall. The waters carried mud into several classrooms, including the library.
PVUSD officials moved the students to nearby Lakeview Middle School, a plan that worked because of low enrollment at both schools.
Built to accommodate 1,000 students, Lakeview had just 450 when the 450 displaced students from Pajaro Middle arrived.
