Tahlequah Schools Closed January 4 & 5 Due To Flooding

Tahlequah Public Schools will be closed district-wide Thursday and Friday due to a break in the sprinkler system at Heritage Elementary.

Superintendent Lisa Presley says repairs will run into the weekend and the goal is to have classes up and running by Monday.

Presley says she was surprised at the amount of water after a pipe in the sprinkler system broke at Heritage Elementary School.

"I think the longer we looked at it the more surprised we were that, that much water could flow through a building in a short amount of time,” said Presley.

Presley says there was only about an inch of water in one hallway and ten classrooms.

She says thankfully someone was here when the break happened and within the hour water was being removed.

"It is a huge nuisance, just water everywhere,” she said. “The carpets have to be dried out. This area needs to be dried and cleaned, and the drywall needs to be repaired."

Classes were supposed to start Thursday, but school was canceled district-wide until next week.

"There are students in this school at Heritage who have siblings in other school sites, so we feel like it’s a convenience for them to not have school everywhere,” Presley explained. “It just alleviates confusion across the district.”

While Presley is frustrated that Mother Nature had her way, she says the damage is not extensive; it’s just time-consuming to clean up.

"We do not want to inconvenience our families, and I know it’s an inconvenience to them,” she said. “But we've got to clean it up.”

This gives kids an extra few days off before the start of January classes.

"You're welcome students; you have two other days off,” she said. “But we'll be so happy to see you on Monday.”

All of the water is cleaned up inside.

Parents we spoke with say they are not too concerned and are happy to be spending a little bit more time with their kids.