Recovery Continues After Hillsborough Middle School Flooded With 18 Inches Of Water

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Despite being flooded by 18 inches of water, Hillsborough Middle School will open on time for the first day of school on Thursday.

Hillsborough Middle School Principal Joseph Trybulski said on Sept. 1 the school did take on water due to a flash lake that formed around a portion of the school from Tropical Storm Ida. The storm flooded the school counseling offices and 11 classrooms with about 18 inches of water.

"Like many of our neighbors in Hillsborough and throughout our region, we've spent the last several days bailing water out of our rooms, assessing the loss of things and the memories attached to them, cleaning and more cleaning, and putting it all back together," said Trybulski. "But, we are okay. Our losses, while significant, pale in comparison to many others who have suffered much worse. And we have the resources to be back on our feet quickly. In fact, we are ready to welcome all of our students back into all of our classrooms this Thursday."

Trybulski said the school did lose some valuable instructional resources particularly in a few of the special needs classrooms, social studies, math and most acutely in several literacy classrooms that had carefully curated libraries of young adult and teen literature for students.

The Hillsborough Middle School Home & School Association will share a list of things the school and classrooms need with the community once teachers are back to help coordinate donations and fundraising efforts.

While the district has already received many messages of support and offers to donate resources, Trybulski said the school is not quite ready to receive donations just yet.

"In the meantime, please continue to care for the many families and neighbors whose immediate needs from the flooding far exceed ours at the moment," said Trybulski. "We have time throughout September to restore our classroom losses with your generous help as well - 'stronger together!'"

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.