Classes are canceled Friday at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, after a malfunctioning sprinkler caused flooding and damaged at least a dozen classrooms, according to Montgomery County Public Schools.
In a Thursday email to Sherwood students, staff and families, the school system said a sprinkler on the second floor of the building malfunctioned: “The resulting high-pressure water has caused flooding and water damage in the immediate area of the leak and then down into the first floor, affecting at least 12 classrooms.”
In the email obtained by WTOP, Adnan Mamoon, MCPS chief of operations, wrote Sherwood High School would need to be closed Friday and through the weekend to complete repairs and restoration, to allow the school to reopen Monday.
The school system’s final day of classes before the winter holiday is Tuesday.
MCPS spokesman Christopher Cram confirmed the school’s Friday closure, and that repair work will continue into the weekend.
“MCPS facilities teams and professional cleaning and restoration contractors (ServPro) are on-site and the work is underway,” Mamoon wrote Thursday. “The broken sprinkler has already been fixed, and the water has been cleaned up, but replacing ceiling tiles and removing other damaged building materials is ongoing work that will continue through the weekend.”
Claudia Delgado, PTSA president at Sherwood High School, told WTOP this is just the latest incident of water damage and maintenance problems in the school.
“Floods have been documented since 2018, because our plumbing system is really old,” Delgado told WTOP’s Kate Ryan. “The school was built in the fifties, and a lot of the plumbing is still that original plumbing, so we deal with leaks all the time.”
More alarming are concerns about mold. Delgado said some staff members have reported respiratory issues related to mold and have called for more thorough testing and remediation.
“The way they fix it is just by replacing moldy ceiling tiles, and then they just wait until it comes back, and then they do it again,” Delgado said.
Superintendent Thomas Taylor has said the cost of maintaining and replacing schools in the county is getting more expensive. Taylor requested $2.7 billion in his six-year capital budget proposal but said the school system’s “true needs” would require a $5.2 billion investment.
“We are slated to have the HVAC replaced,” Delgado said. “Phase One on the replacement is in 2027, but we are not in the queue for any type of extensive remodel or repair of the school.”
In addition to missed classes, the school closure will also affect extracurricular activities. Delgado said her daughter’s pom squad will miss three valuable days of practice, before an upcoming competition.
Located on Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Sherwood High School serves approximately 1,700 students in grades 9 through 12.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
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