Cielo Muniz Sigala

BVH classrooms continue to feel the effects of Hurricane Hilary such as water leaks even weeks after the hurricane has passed. Accelerated Biology, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Environmental Science teacher Michelle Mardhal’s classroom is closed due to construction, resulting in her having to teach elsewhere.

On Aug. 21, Bonita Vista High (BVH) faced a school closure threat due to Hurricane Hillary arriving in San Diego. Although there was no severe damage to the community and BVH remained open, teachers and students dealt with the consequences. Following the Hurricane came leaks and on Monday morning many teachers were confronted with flooded, leaked and dirty classrooms.

Accelerated Biology, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Environmental Science teacher Michelle Mardhal was one of these unfortunate victims. Mardhal arrived to her classroom hoping for the best but was instead met with dirty floors, wet books and damaged personal items.

“I was scared and I was hoping that nothing happened, because I called [Jennifer] Ekstein, my next door [classroom] neighbor, and she said ‘Everything looks good.’ [After arriving at school] I come into the door thinking everything’s good and then I find a pool of water in the center of the room an inch deep,” Mardhal said.

After witnessing the wet mess, custodians and BVH administration worked together to efficiently clean up Mardhals classroom. During this process, BVH Principal Lee Romero and Assistant Principal Carlos Siragusa ensured assistance was sent to other flooded classrooms on campus. IB and AP French teacher Patrick Beaulieu, also faced a flooded classroom that morning.

“I figured that because this wing of the school is relatively new, [that] there [were not] going to be any problems [from the hurricane]. When I got to school my door was opened and all of the other doors were closed and [one of] the custodian was in here vacuuming up water with a water vacuum,” Beaulieu said.

To help fix the situation, Beaulieu—who had no first period—spent that time cleaning up the overflow of water while Mardhal spent her first period having students engage in alternative outside activities. Moreover, due to the water exposure during the hurricane, both teachers experienced damage to personal items. 

“Those [books, materials and stuffed animals] were my personal items [that got damaged]. It’s not worth getting things replaced because it’s too much paperwork and I usually buy everything myself, [such as] books and learning resources for my students. It’s just too cumbersome to get [my things] replaced [through the school],” Beaulieu said.

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To assist frustrated teachers and distressed classrooms, BVH administration utilized the school’s cleaning supplies and offered to help the custodians in assisting teachers. Furthermore, Romero explains that prior to Monday, the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) and other school districts discussed whether schools should stay open. He had strong hopes that BVH would open Monday morning, even if there were any setbacks.

“As an administrator, you always have to be ready for things to happen and sometimes bad things do happen. You always prepare yourself for the worst but hope for the best. The best thing that happened [is that the hurricane did not leave a big impact] and only a few bad things happened,” Romero said.

However, BVH has dwindled over the years as a school older than most in the SUHSD. Now that the school is surpassing the age of 60 years, staff members like Mardhal strongly believe that it is time for a change within the school’s infrastructure. The hurricane has brought attention to this issue with the numerous leaks into buildings, damaged personal belongings and possibility of mold forming within classrooms.

“This is a 60 old school, so we need some updates. They have to be careful because if they don’t let [the water] dry up then that can affect health issues [with anyone around the leaks of water],” Mardhal said.

Beaulieu hopes the administration and custodians can fix the damage to prevent future hazards. Furthermore, he believes the school should begin looking into these issues before they progressively get worse.

“I hope it doesn’t happen again and I hope if there’s an [opportunity] for water to enter [when it rains, or storms] that they’ll [the school] will fix it. I haven’t seen anybody looking at trying to resolve it for the future,” Beaulieu said.

The struggle with leaks continues in Mardhal’s classroom, therefore she conducts her classes elsewhere. Construction to fix leaks in her classroom has occurred and is ongoing. Beaulieu’s classroom, was cleaned up shortly after discovering the large pool of water. Romero expresses his appreciation towards BVH teachers ability to adjust easily and he respects their attitude towards the issue.

“Our teachers here don’t complain about anything. They know it’s an old school and they know they have to deal with [the chances] of classrooms getting wet. They know it is what it is. That’s what I love about the staff here, they understand,” Romero said.