RUSSELLVILLE, Tenn. — Russellville Intermediate students and staff will attend Russellville Primary School for the rest of the 2023-2024 school year after storm damage according to Dr. Sarah Cooper, principal of Russellville Elementary School.
This change will continue as the intermediate school building receives repairs.
"All planned events will proceed as normal," said Cooper. "Thank you for being supportive as we make a new transition at the end of the year. "
The Hamblen County Schools Superintendent Arnold Bunch announced that Russellville Elementary School will be closed on Thursday, May 9 as crews assessed the damage that was caused during the severe storms.
Bunch has released a statement regarding the damage:
First and most importantly, all of our students and staff are safe. We are very thankful.
We have teams on site assessing the damage at Russellville Intermediate Elementary School. We have damage to the roof and temporary patches are being installed to minimize water leakage. There are a number of ceiling tiles down and multiple classrooms have water. Teams are removing the water and cleaning up the school.
Russellville Intermediate Elementary School will not have classes tomorrow. We will continue to assess the damage to get a better assessment of when we can reopen. Simultaneously, we will review options to get our students into class either in person or virtually. As we get additional information, we will keep parents/guardians informed.
A Tornado Warning was issued for Grainger and Hamblen counties on the morning of May 8.
Hamblen County Sheriff Chad Mullins told 10News that the roof of the school peeled back, but did not collapse. Some rooms took on water and some ceiling tiles fell.
No one was hurt and only third-grade students were in the building at the time—other grades were on a field trip, according to Mullins.
Mullins said there are trees and powerlines down throughout the county, but no one is injured. The National Weather Service said downbursts of at least 80 mph were reported Wednesday afternoon.
This story is ongoing and we will update you as we learn more.