Structural problems found in Haddonfield school buildings

An investigation by Haddonfield School District engineers has revealed structural problems at J. Fithian Tatem Elementary School and the high school's main gymnasium and cafeteria that require stabilization.

The buildings will be safe for use this school year, but some students and functions will have to be moved or rerouted, Superintendent Richard Perry said Monday.

About $1.4 million in reserve funds is being used to address the problems, but to permanently correct the issues at the high school, the district will have go to a bond referendum to seek the needed funds, he said. The vote will probably happen in early 2016.

"Right now, we don't have the money to do the repairs," he said.

The stabilization done at the gym may be good for only a year or two.

Perry said that the district did not yet know how much the gym repairs would cost, but that it would be in the millions.

At Tatem, the structural problems are with two entranceways and a back wall that affects two classrooms. Students who would have been in those classrooms will be relocated.

The emergency repairs at Tatem will continue through October, according to the district's website.

"The issue with the gymnasium is, the foundation is compromised," and there are also wall cracks and a deteriorated roof, the superintendent said. The stabilized gym and cafeteria, which are in the same area, are safe for use, Perry said, but the kitchen, a dance room, the faculty dining room, and some offices will not be in use.

To help make up for the loss of the kitchen, Perry said, some food will be prepared at the middle school, there will be food kiosks, and the district is instituting "an open campus" policy that will allow high school students to go into town to buy food.