HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Walton Academy in Seminole Heights will reopen on Oct. 21 after the building flooded during Hurricane Milton.
The quick recovery is all thanks to a group of people who stepped in to help clean up. They ripped out baseboards and carpets and helped sweep up debris.
The principal said the building was a disaster.
“Well, Hurricane Milton did its thing here at Walton Academy. We have had some flooding here in 90% of the building, so we had to pull up all of the carpet,” Tanika Walton said.
She said a flooded school was not part of their budget, so teachers, students, and parents stepped in to help.
“I've been taking the boards out, taking them back in. I've been sweeping," said 9-year-old Jayce Bey, who attends the school.
Jayce is the youngest but arguably hardest worker who helped clean up the school. His mother, Kayla, said this was a great teaching moment.
“So he can really understand what’s going on and how we can step in and help in any way we can,” she said.
Kayla said it's a crucial lesson she, too, learned at a young age: when she was 15, she went to New Orleans to help after Hurricane Katrina.
“I hate that everyone is going through this, but I'm glad he can get this reality check and instill this volunteer work type of thing within him,” Kayla said.
After days of hard work and nearly two weeks of being closed, the school will reopen to students on Monday morning.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
