'The Middle School Did Bear The Brunt Of The Flooding': Bridgewater Superintendent Says

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Extensive remediation is required for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Middle School to reopen following flood damage from Hurricane Ida, Superintendent Robert Beers said.

"We still have quite a bit of work to complete on our Middle School. The Middle School did bear the brunt of the flooding two weeks back," said Beers during the Tuesday night Board of Education meeting.

Middle School students started the school year virtually and are expected to stay that way until cleanup is completed at the school.

Several classrooms, the gym, the main office suite, and the auditorium in the Middle School "are going to require extensive remediation," said Beers.

An industrial hygienist conducted a review on Monday at the middle school to determine what needs to be thrown out or what can be cleaned.

Fans and dehumidifiers have been in place since 24 to 48 hours after the flood to dry out the school and will remain there to try and reduce humidity and dry things up as much as possible.

Carpets were also ripped out and new carpets are expected to arrive and be installed next week, said Beers.

"Things are in the pipeline," said Beers. "It's a fluid situation. We had to wait until things dried out a bit to figure out the extent of the damage and see what can be remediated and what can not be remediated."

While cleanup continues at the middle school, Hamilton and Crim primary schools were both able to reopen to in-person learning on Tuesday after starting the school year off virtually due to flood damage.

An air sample test was conducted at Hamilton and Crim school last week due to water that was in the building from floodwaters.

The final report arrived Monday stating the mold concentration were considered normal for indoor environments.

"The middle school presents a larger challenge since there was significantly more water and more damage done to the building," said Beers.

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