The roof partially collapsed over the media center at James S. Rickards Middle School in Oakland Park Friday morning, causing 184 students and additional staff members to be evacuated to a nearby high school amid panic.
The Broward County Public School District says there were no students or teachers inside the school's media center when the roof started to come down — that's because the media center was actively under construction.
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The school is being renovated with money from the District's SMART bond program. The bond program's website for updates shows Rickards Middle was allotted more than $10.5 million. Critics say the school district has mismanaged projects within the $800 million program.
Voters passed the bond program to renovate school buildings in 2014.
The Sun Sentinel published data from the school district in 2019 that shows most bond program projects behind schedule and over budget. According to that data, the original cost estimate for repairs at Rickards was $3.3 million and expected to be completed by the end of September 2019.
Then, the district changed its projections to expect Rickards projects getting done by the end of March 2021 for more than $10.7 million
Photos in September 2020, from the bond program, show Rickards Middle School undergoing roof repairs.
Working from the inside, out ⬅️➡️ @RickardsMid
— BCPS SMART Futures (@BCPS_SMART) September 17, 2020
🏫: James S. Rickards Middle School
🔷: District 3, @SBBCBrinkworth
🛠️: Roofing repairs, mechanical upgrades and media center renovation#BCPSSMARTFutures @browardschools @FrankGirardi15 pic.twitter.com/DGLnaQa9er
Photos also show the media center was undergoing renovation with ceiling tiles missing in December 2020.
Multiple rooms on the James S. Rickards Middle School campus are being renovated including the media center, music room, and art room. 🖥️🎶🎨
— BCPS SMART Futures (@BCPS_SMART) December 8, 2020
For more on this school, visit the #BCPSSMARTFutures website: https://t.co/SUwnsNmMi7 @browardschools @sarahmkleonardi @RickardsMid pic.twitter.com/mZaGrVvvjv
The school district did not answer questions from WLRN about the nature of the construction projects leading up to the roof collapse.
A statement from the district reads in part: "The cause and details surrounding this incident are being investigated."
However, the district did confirm that students who were attending school for in-person learning will have to revert back to virtual e-learning for at least next week.
