SOLON, Ohio — Students at Roxbury Elementary School in Solon officially return to the classroom Thursday morning after asbestos was previously found inside the building in the fall, prompting the district to temporarily shift all operations to a nearby church for the last couple of months.
The Solon school was forced to close just a few days into the fall semester. The district even postponed their return from winter break until today to finalize building modifications.
"We believe it (the asbestos) was related to some construction that was done in the building," Fred Bolden, superintendent for Solon City School District, said. "We have had multiple sets of experts come in. They've evaluated all of the building in terms of its safety. We've had extensive testing in every area of the building to make sure that it's safe and we have experts continuing to monitor that."
Testing is now complete, and Bolden said they are thrilled to welcome students and staff back to a safe space. Final clearances have been completed, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health approved the move to resume classes.
"We've had an incredible group of professionals that have worked tirelessly over the last several months to get the building re-mediated, to get it cleaned and get it reconstructed," Bolden said.
School leadership confirmed the environmental team gave the go-ahead after abatement, and testing gave them the "all clear." In September, the district revealed that environmental testing found elevated levels of asbestos. The asbestos was located in an existing roof drain.
For nearly four months, students and staff shifted all operations and schooling to Parkside Church, about 10 minutes from Roxbury.
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RELATED: Solon elementary school temporarily moving to church after asbestos found in roof drain
While students were on winter break, Roxbury Elementary moved forward with what school officials called "an aggressive reconstruction schedule."
"Today is such an exciting day because this is the day that all of our friends are going to be able to come back to the school after having stayed at one of our local churches—Parkside Church—who was incredibly gracious to let us use their children's space to bring all 500 of our kids in their space and now they're all going to be able to come back," Bolden said.
The goal was to get the North Wing ready at Roxbury, and they say it's admittedly been a labor-intensive process. Crews added all new ceiling systems, installed and replaced LED lighting, installed new carpet and tile in classrooms and deep cleaned all items.
Teachers and staff spent time prepping the classrooms at Roxbury to ensure a smooth transition so students could re-familiarize themselves and establish a routine.
"The teachers did a great job adjusting things. We're just really excited to have everybody back and we're glad that we can get back home," Bolden said.
The district says they will continue share test results and additional updates as they become available.
