A Milwaukee-area school serving children with special needs is facing a devastating setback after recent storms caused severe flooding throughout the building.
Journeys Lutheran School in Hales Corners has been forced to delay the start of classes after floodwaters and sewage damaged the lower levels of the building, destroying classrooms, the gym, and the library.
"Water everywhere," said Jenny Stollenwerk, head of school at Journeys Lutheran.
Watch: Special needs school faces $1 million in flood damage, delays start of classes
The damage couldn't have come at a worse time, with students originally scheduled to return to class on Aug. 25.
"The gym is completely destroyed, the HVAC system went out, we've got 10 classrooms total that have been damaged," Stollenwerk said.
Beyond the immediate structural damage, the school faces additional challenges with the discovery of asbestos in the older building, requiring specialized mitigation.
"Our library is in the basement, was all damaged, and then of course it's an older building, so we found some asbestos and we have to do some mitigation there," Stollenwerk said.
School officials estimate cleanup and repairs could exceed $1 million. Without flood insurance or eligibility for FEMA assistance, the private school is turning to the community for help.
"We're a school of students with special needs, all of our students are dealing with some sort of trauma, disability, or neurodivergent. This place has been their safe haven," Stollenwerk said.
The school has now pushed back its opening until at least September while they work to restore the building. They're seeking both monetary donations and assistance from local companies willing to donate labor and materials.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just thinking about what this means to our families, it's devastating," Stollenwerk said.
School administrators hope the community will rally around them to help get students back to the specialized care and education they depend on.
"If anyone can lend a hand, that would be so helpful to us," Stollenwerk said.
Those interested in supporting the school's recovery efforts can find a link to their GoFundMe campaign : https://gofund.me/d989496e
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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