Ephrata High roof to be replaced

EPHRATA — Ephrata High School will be getting a new roof in the coming months after several years of patchwork fixes for ongoing leak issues. The roof had been repaired and gotten a new overlay a bit more than eight years ago, but problems have persisted, prompting the repair.  

Ephrata School District Assistant Superintendent Aaron Cummings said Thursday that the replacement was a long time coming and will cost somewhere between $2 and $3 million, paid for out of the district’s General Fund.  

“Over the last five years or so, we’ve had several issues with the roof continuing to leak, bringing back the company that did some work for us to repair it, and it continues to leak,” Cummings said. “We believed it was time we probably needed to do an assessment of the roof. We did an assessment of the roof, and the recommendation was a full replacement of the entire roof of the main high school building, including the gymnasium.”  

Ephrata School District Director of Communications Sarah Morford reiterated that the cost of the replacement of the roof is not coming from new taxes on local taxpayers. Instead, it is coming from funds the district already has on hand in its General Fund.  

Replacement of the roof was already in planning prior to the recent bond election which failed to pass in February, district staff said.  

While the current roof is still under warranty after the prior replacement and recoating, it’s continuing to leak to the point that simple repairs won’t fix the problems. Part of the problem lies in the roof design, Cummings said. The current roof just doesn’t shed water fast enough, especially if that water is from melted snow, for it to effectively protect the interior of the building.  

Examples of repairs are the replacement of ceiling tiles after rainstorms, flooring damaged in the high school commons area and a variety of areas where drywall damage has occurred. In one instance, the server room in the mezzanine sustained damage.  

“We have one area of our English Department, in the hallway, where it continues to leak, and so all the ceiling tiles, every time we have some rain, the ceiling tiles in that area all get damaged, and we have to replace those,” Cummings said.  

The district is currently asking for bids for the engineering portion of the project, he said. Once that engineering is worked out, the goal is to start construction in time to have everything completed before the fall semester begins. With summer school happening in the Beezley building, summer school will not be impacted. Activities in the high school gym may need to be moved to the gym in the Performing Arts Center or other campuses, but students won’t miss out on those programs because of the construction.  

The main thing with the roof replacement is that the district is aware that it needs to keep Ephrata High functional for students and the community. 

“We anticipate needing to be in that building for many years, and so taking care of it starts with a good roof,” Cummings said.  

    Roof tiles throughout the main Ephrata High School building have had to be replaced due to water damage caused by a leaky roof. While the district has replaced the tiles pictured, ongoing leaks, even after attempted roof repairs, require a replacement of the roof to prevent further damage and keep the facility safe.
  

    Damage to the ceiling in one of the restrooms at Ephrata High School have already been repaired, but without a roof replacement, administrators at the school district fear water damage will continue to cause the need for costly repairs.