KENNEDALE, Texas — Note: This story has been updated with information from the school board's emergency meeting Monday night.
James A. Arthur Intermediate school in Kennedale remains closed after a water main pipe busted, causing flooding and major damage to the entire school.
Classes were canceled for the rest of this week, but an emergency board meeting Monday night determined the next steps for the students and staff.
The district said a relocation plan was developed that will send fifth graders to R.F. Patterson Elementary and sixth graders to Kennedale Junior High for the time being.
The relocation plan will go into effect starting Monday, Feb. 28, the district said.
Further information for students and staff will be given throughout the week.
“This is a true heartbreak,” said Cari Clark, the principal at Arthur Intermediate, told WFAA on Monday.
Heartbreak is one way of describing what happened inside the middle school.
“This is our home,” said Clark.
It's not only home to Clark, but also to 400 fifth and sixth graders and staff members.
“The staff and the students, we come here every day,” said Clark.
But they’re soon going to learn the fate of the school, after a water main pipe busted, flooding all of the classrooms.
The pressure from the bust was so intense, it blew out bricks from the side of the building, cracked the walls and shifted the doors.
“That was the most striking to me, seeing the bricks off of the walls, the water coming through the bricks,” said Clark.
It happened around 3 p.m. Saturday. Crews have been cleaning since then.
“So extremely grateful that there were not any staff or students. We prepare for a lot of emergency situations. This would’ve been different,” said Clark.
Now, school officials say the building might be structurally unsound.
“Devastating,” said Clark.
Even more devastating, everyone was just trying to get back to normal after the pandemic.
“We have a plan, we can reinvent those environments. Kids will have a good learning experience the rest of this school year,” said Clark.