School opens as Middleburgh students seek return to normalcy (with photo gallery)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Lamendola

Middleburgh Middle and High School opened today, a week behind schedule, but none too soon for students eager to find stability in lives upended by the worst flooding in recent history.

“It is cool to be in a routine and it is good to see my friends,” said Brenda Miller, 14, a ninth-grader enjoying the first day of school. “I love this school, and I am looking forward to seeing new teachers and playing soccer.”

The school, a stately brick building more than 100 years old, sustained more than $4 million in damage from flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene. Water and mud from the nearby Schoharie Creek filled the building’s main floor to a depth of five feet.

The area contains the gymnasium, cafeteria, boiler room, and the technology and distance learning classrooms. Equipment in the rooms was destroyed and the school remains without working boilers, although it has electrical service.

With the help of hundreds of volunteers, the district has spent $1 million to date cleaning and restoring of the areas for use. The cafeteria and distance learning classroom are open, but the gymnasium and weight rooms are closed until the floors are repaired, and others areas of the school remain closed until the health department clears them for occupancy.

The school houses 900 students in grades 6-12.

For more on the story, see Tuesday’s print and online editions.