Roof replacement work at Engle Education Center stripped ceiling supports and storm runoff flooded lower level, contractors and IU say

Contractors replacing the roof at the Engle Education Center discovered this month that interior suspended ceilings in large portions of the building had been anchored to the roof deck rather than to structural trusses, and the act of stripping the roof sheared those fasteners and caused ceiling grids and tiles to fail.

Dan Little, assistant director of operations at the Chester County Intermediate Unit, told the Avon Grove School District operations committee that crews stopped work when they realized the problem and that Bancroft Construction (the general contractor for recent interior work) and its subcontractors are responsible for correcting incorrectly installed ceiling supports in the recently renovated areas. Little said the IU does not yet have a total estimated cost for the corrective work but that contractor crews have been brought in to begin repairs and that the IU does not currently expect the issue to change the project substantial-completion target in June.

Separately, a heavy storm caused significant stormwater runoff and mud to enter parts of the building early in the morning; district and IU staff reported mud and standing water in portions of the first floor and the boiler room and that a disaster-response firm (Servpro) was on site to begin remediation. The storm damage is being processed as a builders-risk insurance claim; the district and IU say they are still determining which HVAC units, floor tiles, cabinetry and drywall can be repaired and which must be replaced.

Little and other presenters showed schematic and photos to the committee illustrating: areas where new ceilings had been installed under the recent renovation (those areas appear mostly sound), older areas where existing ceilings had been left in place but fastened to the roof deck (the areas that experienced failures), and the location of the recent water infiltration near the front/vestibule and lower-level mechanical spaces.

Board members pressed for rapid cost estimates and schedule impacts. The IU and contractor representatives said they would produce a time-and-materials estimate as soon as possible and aimed to have a clearer cost and schedule picture for the committee meeting next week. Little said crews were working straight away to stabilize ceiling grids and to provide a more reliable cost range based on the number of square feet affected and the labor already expended. The board requested a breakout showing work completed to date with an assigned value and projected remaining cost.

District and IU officials also described steps to stabilize the erosion-prone slope outside the building that contributed to the interior flooding, saying they would seed and use heavy erosion matting and other temporary stabilization immediately and consider longer-term landscaping after the work is complete.

No formal vote was recorded. Administrators said they will return to the committee next week with updated estimates and site photos.