STANFORD — Continued issues with roof leaks at Lincoln County Middle School have prompted the Lincoln County school board to withhold 20 percent of its final payment to the contractor in charge of upgrading the school's roof.
Middle School Principal Debbie Sims said during a bout of heavy rain earlier this month, there were leaks in the school gymnasium, cafeteria kitchen area and at least one classroom.
Two other classrooms also suffered leaking problems, but it hasn't been determined whether those leaks were due to the roof, Sims said.
The most recent leaking problems come after an unfinished portion of the middle school roof allowed a "waterfall" of water into the library in mid-July, destroying the carpet and portions of the ceiling.
The library was flooded with rainwater again in August, and leaks also showed up in the gymnasium and chorus room. The leak in the chorus room destroyed two Yamaha keyboards.
The contractor, Lexington-based Burnett Sons Roofing Inc., covered the costs of repairing the Library and the keyboards.
Sims said the company has returned to the school since the most recent leaking and is investigating where the leak is coming from.
"They're still in the process of fixing the leaks," she said.
Given the most recent leaking problems, school board members voted Dec. 13 to withhold $5,203 from the final payment of $26,015 due to Burnett Sons, in case the roof continues to leak.
Sims said despite the issues dealt with during the project, the school roof is still much better about leaks than it ever has been in the past.
"The library seems to be leak-free right now and I sure hope it stays that way," she said. "This building has leaked ever since it was constructed."
The $245,300 middle-school-roof project is one of five school-roof-repair projects around the district that began over the summer.
The school board has approved final payment on all four of the other roof projects, which were completed by the Indiana-based company Insulated Roofing Contractors.
In all, the district has spent about $1.66 million repairing roofs at the board office, Hustonville Elementary, McKinney Elementary, Lincoln County High School and Lincoln County Middle School.
Lincoln County High School's roof project came in $30,000 under budget, while Hustonville Elementary's roof project came in $27,000 under budget, according to documents from the school board.
