Burst pipes at Joseph Case High School led to overnight cleanup; students, staff cited and district hires public adjuster

Joseph Case High School suffered significant classroom damage after burst pipes; district officials told the school committee they have begun mitigation work and have engaged a public insurance adjuster to pursue full insurance recovery.

Superintendent Scott Holcomb said the high school experienced flooding that affected multiple rooms, including the band room and spaces with ceiling and insulation damage. The district is working with EnviroClean, a mitigation and restoration contractor, and a public insurance adjuster to document damage and submit claims. Holcomb described the adjuster’s role as a specialist who helps the public entity enumerate recoverable damages and negotiate with insurers.

Holcomb credited staff and students with preventing substantially greater loss. He named staff members who stayed overnight to mitigate the damage — including Neil Geronimo, Julie LaVoche, Garrett Hader and Chris Coelho — and called student cleanup efforts “essential” to reducing the scope of a likely larger claim. The committee presented citations and small gift cards donated by a local ice cream shop to students who helped with cleanup.

District officials said restoration work included “flood cuts” — removing drywall and insulation to dry and repair walls — and that the band room ceiling and insulation were removed. The public insurance adjuster will work on the district’s behalf to make sure covered repairs, including HVAC, electrical, flooring and ceiling work, are fully documented and paid by the insurer; the adjuster’s fee will be paid from any recovery and is typically a percentage of the settlement, the superintendent said.

Committee members praised the rapid response and noted that if the problem had gone undetected overnight, the resulting damages and insurance costs would likely have been substantially larger. The committee said it will receive updates as mitigation and repairs continue. No vote was taken on the incident itself during the meeting; restoration work and claims work will proceed administratively.