After a water pipe break flooded their school in January, Meadowdale Elementary students will return from spring break April 9 to renovated classrooms.

Students were moved temporarily to Edmonds’ Woodway Center after the water pipes at Meadowdale burst during a cold snap over Martin Luther King weekend.

Repairs are now completed, and furniture and equipment were moved back to Meadowdale Elementary during last week’s spring break. Teachers will unpack and reorganize their rooms on Monday and students will return Tuesday.

“Thanks to our staff and movers who worked hard over spring break, teachers will be getting their classrooms ready,” said Edmonds School District spokesperson Lisa Van Cise.

On April 4, movers brought books back to Meadowdale on rolling shelves secured with plastic shipping wrap, with chairs by the stack. The movers laid out rugs, set the bookshelves against the walls, and placed desks and tables.

“We are incredibly grateful for the patience and flexibility of the Meadowdale community during the repairs, and we can’t wait to see everyone back at school,” Van Cise said.

Although precautions were taken districtwide for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend’s cold snap, Meadowdale Elementary and the former Alderwood Middle School both experienced pipe breaks.

A still unconfirmed report stated the schools’ heating systems were set to unoccupied mode, which conserves energy by lowering or turning off the heat when school is out of session. 

Meadowdale sustained water damage to 14 out of its 22 classrooms.

Edmonds School District created a before and after video of Meadowdale Elementary to show the damage and completed work. It can be seen here.

— By Rick Sinnett