SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Keiller Leadership Academy in Encanto has temporarily suspended classes after suffering damage during flooding this past Monday.
Administrators estimate the cost of damages to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"The water leaked into the walls, and so now we're having to break down some walls," said KLA Director Tertia Sartain.
Friday crews were hard at work repairing classrooms and offices impacted.
Some furniture, school books and supplies also had to be thrown out.
"A lot of the wooden shelves, a lot of the books were damaged. A lot of the flexible seating like bean bags and floor chairs," said Amy Higgins.
Higgins teaches third grade. She remembers it raining extremely hard Monday morning. Then, water started pouring into the classroom.
"I had the kids stand on the wall so they wouldn't get wet, but the water kept coming in, so I had the kids sit on their desks," Higgins said.
Some ceilings also began to leak.
Sartain said they decided to dismiss school early.
"I've been at KLA for over 25 years and this has never happened in all my years here," Sartain said
Around 600 students attend the charter school.
Along with school materials, the counseling office, computers, and other technology in the library were damaged.
"The biggest heartfelt loss is having teachers see the things that they spend their own money on being damaged in a matter of 20 minutes," Sartain said.
But Sartain added she appreciates the community's help in restoring the school so students can hopefully return on Monday next week.
She said the biggest focus is making sure students have a safe learning environment to come back to.
"Get them back on track and just keep moving forward with them," Sartain said.
The school has set up a GoFundMe to help with repairs and replace school materials not covered by its insurance.
