Teachers alarmed over leaking, flooding at Minneapolis high school

Educators raise concerns about leaks at Minneapolis school

Teachers at Patrick Henry High School say leaking ceilings and wet tiles are creating an unsafe environment.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Recent heavy rain and snowfall have caused widespread leaking and flooding at Patrick Henry High School – soon to be renamed Camden High School – in north Minneapolis, and teachers there say it's causing a major health and safety issue.

Literacy coach and teacher Sarah Spleiss says the problems started on Tuesday morning with leaking ceilings, wet floors and crumbling tiles. Some classes moved, but others had the leaking portions sectioned off, leaving classes to learn next to the dripping water.

The issues continued throughout the day on Wednesday with some of the water even leaking into the cafeteria.

This all leaves educators there deeply concerned about what could happen in the future to the roof of the nearly 100-year-old building.

Recent heavy rain and snowfall have caused widespread leaking at one Minneapolis high school.

"Our district also has not communicated to us any substantial plan for how they are going to fix the problem instead of just patch it because that's what they have been doing for years. This is not the first time," said Spleiss.

Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) representatives say their engineers have been at the school all week assessing the damage, cleaning and making repairs, as well as conducting air quality testing.

A statement sent to FOX 9 read in part:

"Prior to this incident, Henry High School had been prioritized to receive a new roof and the funding was allocated for design and construction. The exact timing of the roof replacement will depend on contractor availability, but is planned for summer 2024. MPS is also working on contingency plans for the roof if it cannot be replaced in summer 2024. Until the roof is replaced, we will closely monitor Henry High School during severe weather and follow our emergency response protocols which are activated whenever student or staff safety is at risk. We will continue to keep our Henry families and staff updated."