High school deals with leaky roof

POLSON — Polson High School is dealing with heavy leaks from its flat, foam-covered roof, but the current economic climate may not allow for repairs to be made to the 40-year-old building.

According to head custodian Gary Greiff, the building’s roof has leaked for the past 14 years. While the custodial staff has worked hard to locate and seal the problem spots, Greiff said the average lifespan of a flat roof in Montana’s extreme weather is 20 to 25 years. Since Polson High School was built in 1973, the roof has seen plenty of snow and rain, but that isn’t the only thing that mother nature is throwing at it.

“We spend a lot of time up there cleaning it,” Greiff said. “Every year we seal it. But the birds are the biggest problem; we seal it and already there are new holes. You can go up there right now and find seven to eight new holes in the sealant. The birds are eating the sealant on the roofing faster than we can fix it.”

Custodial staff members set up fake owls and snakes on the roof to scare the birds away and Greiff even blocked off the birds’ nesting area on the roof, but the winged menaces continue to peck away.

While the roof is structurally sound, it is leaking for a multitude of reasons. The foam covering on the roof is uneven, allowing water to pool and collect. The cement roof has developed small cracks through the years and the water is finding its way through. Large snowpack in the winter and intense rains in the spring continue to bring precipitation.

“It’s probably worse when it snows. It’s just sitting there,” PHS principal Rob Hankins said. “We need community people to come up here and see what’s happening. We’re not making it up.”

The community did not pass a recent school levy that would have funded repairs, and Greiff and Hankins felt that some people didn’t think the leaks were happening. They also thought the perception that it’s the “new high school” hurt the cause for the levy, even though the building was built nearly four decades ago.

“A lot of people don’t think it’s leaking,” Greiff said. “But not many roofs last that long, especially flat ones.”

Custodial staff set up buckets throughout the high school at multiple leaking points. Greiff said one such bucket collected as much as three to four gallons of water a day, while others leaked at a little slower rate. There are numerous points in the high school where the ceiling paneling was taken down because of leaks. There are numerous water stains on ceilings and carpets. In the career center room, computers were pulled away from the wall because water is coming down from the ceiling.

While the situation isn’t dangerous, it’s a problem that continues to plague the high school. During the Class A Speech and Debate state meet in January, some community members were embarrassed that buckets were strewn about the high school to collect the leaking water.

“It needs work at some point,” Hankins said. “It’s just trying to afford fixing it. We don’t even have the funds to do the repairs in sections. I’m just worried it will get worse.”