Madison Elementary School will remain closed today for repairs and cleanup after frozen water pipes burst over the past couple of days.

Madison’s problems stemmed from louvers that stuck open, allowing the subzero air into the building, said Mike Maloney, executive director of facilities.

The building was chilly on Wednesday when staff and students arrived on a late-start schedule. Maintenance crews worked into the night to repair pipes, but more burst on Thursday, leading the district to send students home about 11 a.m. because the water had to be shut off.

Similar heating issues caused problems at four other D-11 schools. Russell Middle School, closed Wednesday because of flooded classrooms, reopened Thursday. Chipeta Elementary School also had frozen pipes, but the problem was discovered late Tuesday by security and fixed before school opened Wednesday.

Columbia and Taylor elementary schools had chilly rooms Wednesday, but no broken pipes.

D-11 spokeswoman Elaine Naleski said repairs were made, and classes were in session Thursday.

In Academy School District 20, pipes burst at two schools, and 40 buses were late on their routes Wednesday because of frozen fuel lines and other problems, spokeswoman Nanette Anderson said.

A pipe burst in a pump house at Edith Wolford Elementary School in Black Forest, but there was no damage to the school, she said. Challenger Middle School had one flooded classroom, but school was not canceled. Total damage for both schools was estimated at $100.

The more serious issue for D-20 was bus delays, which left some students out in the cold for up to an hour.Anderson said 20 buses had frozen fuel lines, and 20 others couldn’t immediately be started on Wednesday, despite a two-hour delay in the district schedule.

Although the district sent phone, e-mail and text alerts to parents about the delay, some parents were angry because some delays were longer than the 30 minutes that the district had predicted.

Officials in Cheyenne Mountain School District 12, Manitou Springs School District 14 and Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1 reported no problems.

Books and other classroom items were spread out on tables to dry out after frozen pipes burst and flooded some of the classrooms at Madison Elementary School. Workmen from District 11 look into the ceiling for more frozen pipes on Thursday, December 10, 2009. Recent subzero temperatures caused the pipes to burst. The school was closed on Thursday and will also be closed on Friday due to the problem. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett) Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Jerilee Bennett