FRANKLIN TWP.  — The water is coming through the roof at Delsea Regional High School by the bucketful — forcing students to walk in a labyrinthine obstacle course, just days before a third referendum which includes roof repair.

“The middle and high schools have leaks,” said Dr. Piera Gravenor, the superintendent of the district, “but today the major problem is the high school lobby. I’ve never seen it as bad as it is right now.”

The rain had stopped, she said, but water was still coming through — there were about 15 buckets placed in the lobby.

Leaky roofs are nothing new. Gravenor said two previous failed referendums included roof repair, as will the referendum scheduled for Sept. 30.

“The high school principal said it best when she said, ‘Our kids deserve better.’ And they do,” Gravenor said.
School was not closed — once past the lobby and its maze of buckets, the rest of the high school was fine, she said.

“Now that (the rain has) stopped, we’ll patch, what we’ve done  for two years,” said Gravenor. “We’re patching patches.”

Here’s some information about the referendum.