The board explained the slow process of fixing the problem in the basement, which began over a year ago. About one year ago, the first phase of the project pitched the sidewalk away from the front door and added new drains. The second phase, to add French drains, was discussed at a board meeting in August.

The mayor and council lent the board of education their engineer to look into the flooding issue in the spirit of sharing services between the two governing bodies, according to business administrator Kathy Marano.

Marano said flooding in the basement was "not really a big deal" and board President George McDermott said the health department had not determined it to be hazardous to the health of students or employees.

The borough engineer, Neglia Engineering, has gone out to bid on the project and the board is in the process of reviewing bids. Callahan expressed disdain over the length of time it took the board to get the project underway. "My kid is sitting in a building that has two inches of water in the basement," she said.

The project cannot commence while class is in session, because the noise from drilling would disrupt learning, said Marano. Because the district no longer has February breaks, the earliest work could begin as early as April, she added.

In addition to water in the basement, Callahan’s daughter told her of water coming from the ceiling. The board was not aware of this at the meeting, but looked into it that week. After snow storms on Dec. 13 and 15, ice built up between the seams of the buildings rubber roof, according to Tony Alho, the man in charge of maintenance throughout the district.

When snow melts and re-freezes, the seams expand, leaving holes large enough for water to pass through. "This has happened before with these rubber roofs," said Alho, adding that the roofs are over 12 years old.

He said he would fix the leaks as soon as the ice thaws.