Rained-out repair job condemns Jackpot Elementary

Saturday, Jan. 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The cost has run past the $1 million mark for the Elko County school district.

Both the Jackpot and Carlin schools were to have received new roofs.

The old roofs were torn off in preparation, but nobody remembered to order the materials for the new roofs. Then it rained twice.

The asbestos in the Jackpot school ceiling got wet and came down into the classrooms. Most of the books and school supplies were ruined by water. What was not damaged by water is contaminated by asbestos.

The cost for cleaning asbestos from a single page is $20, Jackpot School principal Orval Nutting said.

After the first rain, in September, classes continued as usual after a single day's break. The second rain, in late December, sent students and teachers out of the building permanently.

They saved the computers and important records. Displaced students have been scattered throughout the high school. Modular classrooms are in place.

It is not known if the elementary school building can be saved.

Carlin's problem is worse. Its school is two stories, and the water hit the computer and science lab.

Elko County's growth of more than 400 students a year and a failed bond issue, have left schools overcrowded.