There was four feet of murky, muddy water outside and at least two feet inside the school from the June 22 flooding that killed one person and displaced 1,500 more in Rock Valley.
Days of heavy rainfall in mid-June pushed the nearby Rock River to a record-breaking depth of 27 feet ― 5 feet above the previous record and 8 feet above flood stage, according to the National Water Prediction Service.
"Our first thought was, 'How do we get this ready for students again in the fall?'" Rock Valley Superintendent Matt Van Voorst told the Register. "So the cleanup efforts began immediately and we have shifted gears into rebuilding."
Van Voorst estimates the total cost of cleaning, repairs, replacement and construction will total around $20 million.
The Rock Valley Community School District had hoped to have repairs and construction done by Aug. 23 after the flood waters had breached the K-12 school's gates. However, with help from the state of Iowa, they are pushing back opening the school to Sept. 5 with the addition of a modular building to house six classrooms until construction is completed.
"We collaborated with the state on some ideas … and they generously have helped us place this temporary structure that has six classrooms in it," Van Voorst said. "We'll be able to place our sixth, seventh and eighth grades in that space."
During a press conference at the school on Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the facility's opening.
“When I visited right after the storms, Rock Valley’s K-12 public school building was an island completely surrounded by water," she said in a statement. "Now, the district is prepared to welcome its students back a week from today.”
According to a release from the governor's office, the 7,000-square-foot facility cost around $2 million to set up and is fitted with wireless internet and smartboards.
“This was no small feat,” Reynolds said. “The adversity this community has endured without breaking, matched with emergency response from federal and state agencies, business partners, and my team is a remarkable example of crisis collaboration and the reason we’re all here today.”
The Rock Valley Community School District has around 850 students, with about 150 students able to utilize the modular building for the 2024-25 school year.
"We want to have a nice space for them to really feel some normalcy, and have a comfortable learning environment," Van Voorst said.
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield donated more than $500,000 to support disaster-impacted schools, including Rock Valley, Spencer, Greenfield and Minden to help with the 2024-25 school year. Disaster-impacted schools also have access to $80,000 in federal emergency grants for students.
The modular building will be available for use in other school districts after Rock Valley is completed with construction. District officials hope to move every student back into the building by the start of the 2025 school year.
"I think we're going to come out stronger on the other end," Van Noort said. "… some few years down the road, when we're looking back, I think we're going to think, 'Man, we did this together.'"
Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: After floods, Rock Valley schools push back opening of school for construction
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