Missoula High School remains closed because of roof problems
Students and staff at Missoula's Sentinel High School won't have to worry about Wednesday's snow and cold. That's because problems with a portion of the school's roof are forcing the district to cancel classes again Wednesday.
The problems first developed Monday evening when it was noticed that there was a problem with the supporting structure of the roof over the small engine shop. The district evacuated and closed the area and asked for a structural engineer to come and assess the situation.
The district stresses that the roof didn't "collapse".
The school closed Tuesday, including both classes and after-school activities as a precaution.
Now, Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Russ Lodge says the decision has been made to go ahead and cancel classes and activities on Wednesday as well. That means no school at Sentinel High School, which had been scheduled to start Winter Break on Thursday.
The district is continuing to work with the engineer and others to come up with a plan for making repairs. That's in an older part of the school, which didn't see the extensive renovations and remodeling that were completed on the rest of the campus 5 years ago as part of a district-wide improvement plan.
In the meantime, Lodge says others are working to come up with a plan to keep heat in the building. Utilities had to be shut down when the roof problem was first discovered. He says the district will be working with that team to find a time when students and staff can re-enter the school to recover belongings during Winter Break.