05-04-2025
AACS provides update on Lakeside High School
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — The Ashtabula Area City Schools leadership team is presently evaluating information regarding the structural integrity of Lakeside High School after the Dec. 1 collapse of a portion the roof, according to a press release from AACS Superintendent Lisa Newsome and AACS Chief Financial Officer/Director of Operations Mark Astorino.
'On Friday, district leadership and the Board of Education received several reports from professional firms engaged by the district to assess the structural integrity and viability of repairing the two-story front academic wing of the high school,' the press release states.
The roof collapse occurred after five feet of snow blanketed the area and caused a portion of the roof to collapse on Thanksgiving weekend. After the roof collapse, the district reviewed the inside of the school, and eventually the remaining roof was removed and put back together as evidence, school officials said at the time.
The reports provided Friday detailed the damage done to door frames, lockers, concrete block outside walls and inside demising walls and plumbing.
The release indicates the firms recommendation to the district's insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual, is to proceed with complete demolition and rebuilding of the front, two-story academic wing.
Newsome and Astorino have been working with these firms to obtain these recommendations.
'The amount of water is very concerning and the damage it has done to the first story of the building and the mold will become an issue,' Newsome said.
She said her concern has been for the students and staff from the beginning of the disaster.
'We want to make sure the decisions the decisions that are being made are decided for the health and safety of our students and staff,' Newsome said.
The school board and leadership will continue to evaluate the next steps. Newsome said the recommendation is not yet the final plan.
'That is only the recommendation, that is not the plan because we still have to go through our insurance company,' she said. 'The recommendations are coming from our structural engineer and our people. It's just a recommendation, it is not the plan.'
'We want the students back in the high school, but we will do our due diligence with our experts to do what is best. Working to repair the back part of the building first, to be able to utilize that part sooner is at the forefront and we will work toward that goal during this unimaginable process,' Newsome said in the press release.
Astorino said in the release the potential for mold development is a major issue.
'We are really concerned with the amount of water infiltration and potential for subsequent mold development,' he said. 'We are not open to bringing any students or staff back into a building that could present future environmental and hygiene issues.
'The recommendations are very clear, make sense and we are eager to get the rebuilding process underway as soon as possible.'
Astorino said the school district hired Sill Public Adjusters to represent them with respect to this large claim.
The company will be working with Liberty Mutual on moving forward with the work, Astorino said. He hopes the district will be able to have a tentative timeline for reconstruction in the next few weeks.
The status of the back roof over the E/F classroom wing is also being evaluated by engineers.
'Although no sections of that roof area collapsed, there have been concerning, structural observations that need to be addressed,' Astorino said in the release.
