Less than two weeks after an arson fire caused more than $1 million damage to St. Anthony of Padua School in Parma, classes will resume. St. Bridget of Kildare Parish, which closed its school last spring, offered the use of its vacant school buildings to St. Anthony. (See photo gallery above.)
Patrick Klimkewicz, St. Anthony principal, said he is still overwhelmed by the massive outpouring of support from the Parma area community and beyond.
“We will have a parent open house on March 3 and grades 6-8 will return to classes on March 4,” he said. The entire school will be back in session on March 7.
Klimkewicz said the Parma City School District worked with St. Anthony to ensure that the transportation needs of students and their families were met. He said the daily school schedule would remain the same.
In addition, diocesan school officials and Klimkewicz worked out a plan so all students will be able to make up any missed schoolwork. As a result, the school year will end as scheduled. “There will be no need to extend the school year,” he added.
Dozens of people have been working all week to ready the former St. Bridget School to house the St. Anthony students for the remainder of this school year.
Klimkewicz and Father Dale Staysniak, St. Anthony of Padua pastor, said they were grateful to Father Rob Wisniewski, St. Bridget pastor, for his offer to use the vacant school. It was move-in ready, they said, acknowledging the work of St. Bridget’s maintenance staff. Father Wisniewski said the staff spent last summer cleaning the entire school from top to bottom.
Once classrooms were assigned, teachers began planning how to set up their new rooms.
A huge outpouring of school supplies, cleaning supplies, books and more were collected in the past 10 days to replace everything lost in the fire. Schools from across the diocese signed up to donate specific educational supplies, gift cards and to provide lunch for the faculty and staff for the first two weeks of school at the temporary site. Some schools had dress-down days to raise funds to assist with any additional needs St. Anthony might have.
St. Anthony parents, led by Sam Kolousek, father of two students, a coach and PTU president, organized a school supply collection at the Parma Heights Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library on Feb. 26.
“It exceeded our expectations,” Kolousek said, as he looked around the library meeting room, which was filled with supplies that parent volunteers categorized and organized in boxes ready to deliver to St. Bridget. A truck and crew donated by Andrews Moving and Storage – the employer of a St. Anthony parent – filled the truck at least three times, dropping off thousands of items at the temporary school site. Another parent filled his trailer with items and took them to the school,
“It is so humbling to see the love and support for St. Anthony’s throughout all of this,” Kolousek said.
On Ash Wednesday, March 2, the Parma Fire Department and University Hospitals Parma Medical Center collaborated for a “Stuff the Squad” event. An ambulance was stationed at the hospital 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. accepting donations of cleaning supplies, paper products, hand sanitizer, first aid items and vacuums.
T.J. Martin, fire department public information officer, called the turnout “phenomenal. There was a steady stream of people dropping things off all day long.”
Assisting with the effort was Paul Davis, the restoration company working to help repair the fire-damaged school. Ken Mather, Paul Davis director of business development, said the company sent a truck and a driver to help collect donations at the hospital.
“We felt we needed to be here to help. It was important that we do what we can to help the school,” he said. Work is continuing to remove damaged items, shore up the fire-damaged areas of the building and prepare to clean and restore the building, he said.
Meanwhile, at the former St. Bridget School, students from nearby Holy Name High School in Parma Heights volunteered all week to help unload, move items and do any other needed tasks. The varsity baseball team was on site March 2 to unload the ambulance and Paul Davis truck.
The following day, the Padua Franciscan High School football team spent several hours assisting with the efforts to prepare the school for reopening. Padua shares a campus with St. Anthony of Padua Parish and School.
“These students were a lifesaver,” said Tracey Arnone, diocesan assistant superintendent of schools. “They did so much heavy lifting, moving boxes, taking things up and down stairs.” She said staff members from the diocesan education office, parents, the high school students and other volunteers handled the tasks of sorting, organizing and moving items so the teachers could focus on setting up their classrooms.
By March 2, many classrooms were ready to greet students. The rooms were decorated, desks were filled with school supplies and books were stacked on shelves.
“We will rise,” said Kolousek. "That’s our motto. It’s great to see the light and there is so much light.”
School officials are asking that donations stop since they have more than enough supplies needed.
“We appreciate everything everyone has done. I am so very grateful,” Klimkewicz said. “People have been so wonderful through this whole experience.”
The arson investigation continues, Martin said. The fire, which was spotted by a maintenance worker about 10 a.m. Feb. 19, likely smoldered for a while in the basement before flames erupted. There was extensive damage to the basement, classrooms and offices above the fire. Fortunately, firefighters controlled the blaze quickly, but not before it caused extensive damage – including smoke and water damage – throughout the building.
Anyone with information about those responsible for the fire should contact the State Fire Marshal tip line at 800-589-2728, Parma Police Detective Marc Karkan at 440-887-7323 or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 216-252-7463. A cash reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for the blaze.