Battle Ground Public School officials now know what caused the library ceiling to sag at Pleasant Valley Middle School on Monday, sending students home early.
Late Monday afternoon, crews removed the heating and cooling unit with a crane to eliminate stress on the roof and allow structural engineers to do a full inspection. They discovered the bottom support beam on the roof trusses above the library had broken and slipped about six inches, causing the ceiling to sag, said Sean Chavez, spokesman for Battle Ground Public Schools.
Monday afternoon, staff noticed the ceiling in the middle school library and media center was sagging below the heating and air conditioning unit. School was dismissed early for the middle school and Pleasant Valley Primary, which shares the campus.
The structural engineer checked the trusses above the library Monday, as well as all HVAC units at both schools. Installed around 2008, the heating and air conditioning unit is not damaged, Chavez said. Crews removed the HVAC unit to lighten the weight on the trusses, he said.
