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Almost five months after an EF3 tornado hit Springdale, school is about to start at George Elementary.
The principal, Justin Swope, said the school’s gym was completely destroyed in the storm.
“It was extremely messy. There was debris from the homes over here. There was a number of things from our gym way over in other parts of our neighborhood as we walked around, play equipment and stuff, that was located in people’s yards. This gym building was basically imploded on itself,” Swope said.
Now, all that’s left of the George Elementary gym is a concrete slab.
Swope said the slab will be used for physical education classes this fall.
“We plan to use this space as much as we can to have outdoor PE until we can complete a construction project. Hopefully, at some point here later this year, we’ll begin construction to replace our gym,” he said.
Swope said the tornado impacted more than just the physical building at the school.
“Obviously, there was the initial impact of students who were displaced. There was the trauma of that situation for our students. You know, in the months following, anytime we had a storm, you could tell that kids were anxious about that,” he said.
The district’s director of maintenance said construction on the new gym will hopefully be finished by August of 2024.
Parents can expect changes to drop-off and pickup in anticipation of the new construction starting this fall.
About 650 students will return to George Elementary on Aug. 15.
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