COVINGTON, Ky. — Latonia Elementary will begin in-person learning on Tuesday, Jan. 13, after a partial roof collapse delayed the district's return from holiday break, Covington Independent Public Schools Superintendent Alvin Garrison announced.
Covington Battalion Chief Chris Alsip told us crews were called to the school at around 11:10 p.m. New Year's Eve after reports of a roof collapse. A district spokesperson said no one was inside the building and no injuries were reported.
By 1:30 a.m., that scene had cleared, but the building was still blocked off near the area where a long crack appeared to have formed in the side of the building.
In a press conference, Garrison said instead of returning to in-person learning after winter break, students would have Tuesday, Jan. 6 off before the entire district started a short-term virtual learning or Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) plan Wednesday.
According to a social media post from the district, the Kentucky Department of Education specifies that NTI can only be used when an entire school district is closed due to health or safety concerns.
"It is strictly prohibited for just one school in a district to switch to virtual learning while others remain open in person. It is an 'all-or-nothing' district-level tool," the post said.
Garrison said all Covington schools, with the exception of Latonia, will return to in-person instruction Monday, Jan. 12. Latonia students will return to their school the following day, Tuesday, Jan. 13.
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In his announcement about the return to school, Garrison said crews are nearing completion of "emergency stabilization and controlled demolition" at the school. He said crews have installed shoring towers, braced exterior walls and "safely removed the solar array from the compromised roof" as well as stabilized the remaining gym and conducted an assessment of the main school building.
"It should be understood that the gym structure and the main school structure are two different structural systems that do not share the same characteristics, materials or design," Garrison wrote. "Therefore, whatever the cause of the collapse, it does not correlate directly to the main school building structure."
Garrison said Advantage Structural Engineers will do a final structural assessment to confirm the building is safe as all work is expected to be finished by the end of the week.
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The superintendent said families of students who attend the school can attend an open house at the school starting at 3 p.m. Jan. 12 to see the work. Engineers and school administrators will be available to answer questions or give updates from 4:15 to 5 p.m.
