It’s been about a year and half since the Seminole Public School District took occupancy of the new high school on Highway 9, and it’s been taking on water since day one.

Water seeps in through doors and some of the windows - especially when it rains – and school officials are looking to the building’s architect and the general contractor to make it stop.

“We’ve had several different areas leaking since we took occupancy,” said Superintendent Bob Gragg. “We have remedied several of the leaks, but new ones spring up when the wind changes direction. Most of them have been fixed. We’re down to four or five right now.”

Recently, the district called in Michael Allen Riley Architecture, Wynn Construction, the roofing subcontractor and the window subcontractor to conduct a leak test on the building.

“All of them were convinced that water would not leak through the windows,” Gragg said. “We sprayed the windows with a high-pressure water hose and water began to drip inside the building after about 15 minutes.”

Gragg said that the construction team is committed to getting the leaks fixed and the building is still under warranty. Any fixes would be the responsibility of the contractor unless the remedy goes outside the scope of work under the original agreement. In that case, it would the district’s responsibility.

“Any outside drainage issues would be our responsibility,” Gragg said. “One possible solution for the outside is to pour concrete between the east and west wing doors to catch downspout runoff. We also plan to put sodding down in front of the building this summer, which will help with drainage. We still have bond money available for that,” he added.

According to Gragg, the company that installed the doors will add weather stripping and/or move the thresholds of the north entry doors on the building’s east and west ends to help alleviate water seepage.

Gragg added that the Seminole High School Alumni Association wants to get involved with landscaping and other projects.

In September 2017, voters approved a $21.66 million bond issue to construct the new school. Actual construction costs were about $15.5 million. Students began attending classes in the new facilities in January 2020.

“Just like any new house, there are going to be a few issues,” Gragg said. “But we’re getting them all worked out.”