JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A day after excessive rain caused a backup from a flooded sewer system at Jacksonville School for Autism, families who rely on the school as a key resource are still looking for options for their children.
The school had to close early on Wednesday due to the flooding and was closed again on Thursday while crews cleaned up the damage caused by the backed up sewer system. The executive director of the schools said it could be more than a week before they’re back to normal.
“It seemed like all of a sudden it went from a few rooms to both buildings completely flooding,” said Michelle Dunham, the Executive Director of Jacksonville School for Autism.
Dunham said Wednesday’s flooding was just the second time in 20 years that children had to be sent home from her school.
Tyler Davis has attended Jacksonville School for Autism for 15 years and is working to understand why he can’t go to school. His father Chip Davis said his son relies on the routine and structure of going to school every day.
“He is where he is today because of this school and that’s why I want to help Michelle as much as I can,” said Davis.
The Davis family has raised more than $1 million for the school through the annual Flounder Pounder fishing tournament since 2010 and some of that money went towards the installation of new flooring in one of the JSA buildings last year.
“That’s $100,000 of flooring that’s gone,” said Davis, “everything in that room, everything that touched that water has to be thrown out, it hurts, it really does.”
According to JEA, rain inundated the sewer collection system, which overflowed back into the school. JEA says mechanics returned the sanitary sewer lift station back to normal operations on Wednesday, which is also when ServPro arrived to begin the cleanup effert. By Thursday portable dyers and anti-bacterial spray were constantly working inside the building to try and minimize the flood damage.
Dunham said her heart goes out to parents of students who suddenly can’t send their kids to JSA and have to find child care options for their child with autism at a moment’s notice.
“When their children have to be home it puts an entire burden on the family,” said Dunham, “we take that very seriously at JSA, that’s why we’re here, is to make a difference for our families.”
There are two buildings on the campus of Jacksonville School for Autism and Dunham said they hope to prioritize one building to get kids back on campus quickly while work continues on the second building.
The 15th annual Flounder Pounder fishing tournament to benefit Jacksonville School for Autism is Oct. 12th and Chip Davis said the money that tournament raises is needed now more than ever for the school. More information about the Flounder Pounder fishing tournament can be found on their website.
A statement from JEA about the disruption of classes at Jacksonville School for Autism reads:
We understand the disruption this is causing the Jacksonville School for Autism, students and their families. JEA remains focused on monitoring system capacity during extreme rain events and ensuring that crew members are prepared to respond as necessary.