Robbinsville – Graham County Schools is continuing to conduct tests on the Robbinsville Elementary School gymnasium.
In an update given at the Graham County Board of Education meeting Tuesday, assistant superintendent Robert Moody said that the current theory among the engineers who have inspected the gym was that its floor was expanding, pushing the walls out.
“Regardless of whether the structure is fit or not, the walls are not,” Moody said. “They have been continually moving.”
He spoke to how confusing the issue was, saying that the engineers were “baffled.” He said one of the biggest questions was why the issues had suddenly manifested in the gym, which has stood since the 1960s.
“They can’t really give us an answer, so right now, it’s just going to be process of elimination,” Moody said.
He said the district was having to cut 8-inch strips from the gym floor to accommodate the SONAR equipment.
“They can’t do it on the gym floor because it’s not made for it, but they can do it on the concrete itself, so they can check for sinkholes,” Moody explained.
He said moisture readings taken by commercial dehumidifiers in the gym had yielded between 20-30 gallons of water, approximately what is expected from such a building. However, he added that the amount of moisture had increased further from the center of the gym. He also said that soil samples taken near the site looked normal.
Additionally, he said the gym’s brick walls would likely have to come down at some point in the process. The gym’s walls are not load-bearing.
Moody also said the district had to vacate its preschool building near the site for safety reasons.
“Its building is structurally fine where they’re at,” Moody said. “It’s not really attached per se, but the playground is in a danger zone if the wall were to fall.”
Superintendent Angie Knight mentioned that the district was looking at moving the playground to a safer spot further from the problem building.
Moody said another issue facing the district was figuring out what to do to handle physical education courses and other events once housed in the gym.
“It’s frustrating because we need to figure out something for these kids in the fall for gym,” Moody said.