Ocean City Schools Superintendent Dr. Matthew Friedman issued a statement Tuesday, the first day back at school after winter break, about the damage caused by several pipes bursting at the high school on Christmas night.
Here is his message:
Good afternoon, Ocean City Families
I hope all of you have had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday season so far with family and friends.
As you know, over the past week, Winter Storm Elliot brought a severe Arctic freeze and sub-zero temperatures to our area that will definitely be remembered for years to come. Because of the sub-zero wind chill temperatures over several days, Ocean City High School was unfortunately impacted.
On the evening of December 25th, several water pipes burst, resulting in water damage that ranges from minor to more severe in isolated areas in the building (the weight room, the auxiliary gymnasium, the main gymnasium, and the auditorium).
Thankfully, due to the quick actions of our district maintenance and custodial team along with Mayor Jay Gillian and our Ocean City Fire Department, we believe our damages were mitigated as much as possible.
While assessments are continuing to be made, we have been working with high school administration and the athletic department to make alternative arrangements, if necessary.
The cleanup process is currently taking place by a highly recommended company with vast experience in these types of circumstances and will be completed in various stages over time.
The auxiliary gym, weight room, auditorium and main gym have water damage due to the broken pipes over Christmas.
Any further updates on this situation will be sent out through our district website. Please look out for these through text and email as well.
A safe and healthy environment is our top priority and parents will be notified as soon as possible with any important changes that may occur because of this unfortunate event.
As of today, our schools will open as scheduled on January 3rd.
The district would like to send out a special thank you for the incredible time and effort dealing with this unfortunate situation to our OCSD Director of Facilities, Mr. Henry Rodrique, along with members of our custodial and maintenance staff, Mayor Jay Gillian, and the Ocean City Fire Department.
This event is another example of our amazing community working together to help each other get through situations, both good and bad.
As we continue to deal with the effects of this storm locally, we will continue to keep the families in Buffalo and across the Midwest who lost loved ones during this storm in our thoughts.
Thank you, Red Raider Nation, for your continued support.
Yours in Education,
Dr. Matthew Friedman
