Kim Leonard, superintendent of Buckeye Local School District, stands in one of the newly renovated rooms damaged last fall by water damage from a clogged roof drain. (Photo by Shelley Hanson)

TILTONSVILLE — Buckeye South Elementary School educators are working quickly to get their classrooms ready for the first day of school after renovation work was recently completed.

About $270,000 worth of work was done on the building to remedy damage caused last fall by a clogged drain on the roof of the building. Water streamed down to the lower floors including inside the walls, Superintendent Kim Leonard said Thursday.

“There was no place for the water to go so it came down the walls,” she said, adding the majority of the classrooms at the front of the building — eight in total — on all three floors received damage.

Leonard showed off one of the early intervention classrooms on the first floor that received work that began in May. It has new flooring, newly painted walls and new lighting and electrical components.

The look of that room contrasts with the hallway outside that features original aspects of the old building.

The water damage forced the building’s closure last school year. About 250 students were taught inside St. Joseph Catholic Church’s former primary school building nearby. This prevented the district from having to bus the students to various other schools to receive instruction. Another 65 sixth-graders were taught at Buckeye Local High School.

“It’s wonderful to get it done,” Leonard said, adding that Colaianni Construction of Dillonvale was the general contractor hired to do the job. “Now we’re working to get the kids back into the building.”

Leonard thanked St. Joseph pastor the Rev. William Cross and the Tiltonsville community for being so supportive during the school’s time of need.

The first day of class is set for Aug. 25. An open house for all the district’s elementary schools is set for 5-7 p.m. Aug. 24.

Buckeye South Elementary will also have a grand reopening from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 1.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit related to the water damage still is in litigation, Leonard said. She added that she is “not permitted by law” to discuss details of the lawsuit while it is still active.

“I can’t give out any details until after it is over,” she said, noting neither can the attorneys working the suit.