ATLANTIC, Iowa — Almost a month after Atlantic Middle School caught fire, students and teachers are getting ready for the start of the school year.
Classes start on Monday, but the building is still off limits. Superintendent Steven Barber said water damage affected 85% of the school, but the district didn't want to go back to online learning.
The plan is for students to learn at different locations based on grade level. There are 330 students at the 6th-8th grade school according to its website.
"We are in a process, we're under the assumption and we're planning for the whole year," Barber said. "Obviously, if it gets done before that, we will move into it when it's ready, but we do not want to create false hopes for anybody we want to so we plan on being in this temporary location for a year."
Barber said the district is dealing with supply shortages due to COVID and struggling to find construction workers.