SCOTT, La. (KLFY) –  In Lafayette Parish, Westside Elementary sustained extensive water damaged. On Monday, Westside students were moved to classroom space provided at Scott Middle and N.P. Moss Prep.  Westside Elementary School Principal, Lisa Thomas says she’s been at Westside for 11 years.  She says the school has never sustained so much water damage. “I anticipated a little water in some of the classrooms but not what we saw,” says Thomas.

LPSS Chief Administrative Officer Joe Craig says the school accumulated 12 to 18 inches of water.  Craig says teachers collected what school supplies they could. He explains furniture had to be brought in from the warehouse to help replace what was damaged. “The vendor is just about done cleaning up the school. We’re still kind of drying out the two by fours and the structural aspects of it. We’ll be ready to bring contractors in to start rebuilding the walls,” adds Craig.

When it’s all said and done the district hopes to re-open Westside in the next three to four months. Craig reluctantly gave a rough date of when that can happen.  He says his projection is only a hope. “If I had my dream-date, I would say during the Thanksgiving break. We may be done a little before that.  We may go beyond that,” says Craig.

The district plans to do other work at that the school – aside from repairing the water damage. Craig says the goal is to get it done, but done right.  Principal Thomas agrees. “We want everything done properly. We want to go back to a wonderful environment,” notes Thomas.

The superintendent says the results of a survey completed Friday show that 96 percent of school employees were able to return to work.