Superintendent Keith Konyk joined Congresswoman Summer Lee and other leaders for a tour of the work being done at Elizabeth Forward High School Friday morning.

It was nearly three weeks ago that fire tore through the school’s auditorium. Since then, students have been learning remotely from home. Konyk praised both students and teachers for their dedication and commitment during this uncertain time, but said the district hopes to get student’s back to in-person learning as soon as possible.

“We’ve explored dozens and dozens of options,” explained Konyk. The superintendent says local districts have offered their facilities for the high school to use.

The work at the high school is being done in two parts, according to Konyk. The first is the controlled demolition of the auditorium, where the fire started and did the most damage. That work has proven to be difficult, according to Konyk, because that is where the school’s mechanical room is underneath that site.

The second part is remediation work to remove smoke damage to the rest of the school. More than 150 people have been on site, working to wipe down walls and seats while removing and replacing damaged ceiling tiles

“This is one of many high schools that is probably too old for our students and staff to be in,” said Congresswoman Lee. “We need to figure out what we can do to bring up all of our school buildings, not just this one, but all of our building up to the future.”

Superintendent Konyk also took the time to thank the community for it’s outpouring of support since the fire.

“That support has really helped us keep going,” said the superintendent. “Our local community has been amazing. This is a community that just values this district, they take great pride in it, and we want to make sure we meet that expectation and have a fabulous building.”

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