School Closes Due To Burst Pipe

District 191: Nicollet Junior High closes due to water damage

Submitted by Keighla Schmidt on November 29, 2010 - 2:34pm.

There will be no school for students at Nicollet Junior High in Burnsville on Tuesday, Nov. 30, so the clean-up can continue following the release of about 120,000 gallons of water when a frozen pipe thawed and burst over the weekend.

Students were also out of school today (Monday, Nov. 29.)

“We hope to be back to business as usual on Wednesday because we are a place for teaching and learning and that’s what we want to do,” said Principal Renee Brandner.

Staff members were at work on Monday but will not report on Tuesday so that extensive cleaning can take place. A decision will be made on Tuesday afternoon about re-opening on Wednesday.

Videotape from a security camera shows the leak started about 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 from a fire sprinkler pipe in the main office, according to Jon Deutsch, the district’s director of operations and properties.

A neighborhood resident noticed water coming out of the school's front doors and called police around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Water was shut off to the building about 4 p.m. but not before it reached most of the main floor and seeped down to the lower level. The school’s top floor is unaffected.

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