Pawtucket holds emergency meeting to discuss the state of Winters Elementary 

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — The Pawtucket School Committee held an emergency meeting Tuesday night to discuss the issues plaguing Henry J. Winters Elementary School.

During the meeting, school committee members said engineers and construction workers will be checking the safety of the rest of the building. Specifically, 68 additional heating coils.

Moisture level was also a concern as it could impact the overall air quality in the school.

Superintendent Lisa Ramzi said she believes the students should not return until everything is checked.

On Feb. 26, school committee members closed Winters Elementary School “until further notice” after another heating coil failed.

“We regret that this has happened. This is something beyond our control, but we will get it fixed and we will not have our students here until it is safe and secure,” Joanne Bonollo, Pawtucket School Committee member, said Sunday during a press conference.

Winters Elementary was set to reopen Monday after students missed two weeks of in-person learning and were set to return from winter break.

Students have been learning remotely, as they have for most of this month.

This weekend’s damage, the school said, is less severe but is the latest in a number of issues with the brand new elementary school that just opened last September.

The start of school delayed six days back in September following a failed fire alarm battery test during final inspections of the new school. Then, during the arctic blast that brought negative wind chill temperatures, a burst heating coil caused 23 classrooms to suffer severe water damage.

Now, the latest in the ongoing problem with the school — another pipe burst shooting out hot water at about 135 degrees.

Coil rechecks started Monday and will conclude Wednesday. A final decision is expected by the end of Thursday.