District Decides to Remove Entire Ceiling at LBHS

A parking area ceiling at Long Beach High School will be completely removed as a safety precaution before students return to classes on April 16 after it partially collapsed last week, according David Weiss, superintendent of Long Beach School District.

In a statement posted on the district’s website Monday, Weiss said that school officials decided to remove the suspended stucco ceiling that covers an overhang around the school and the ground-floor's west parking area after the ceiling collapsed in the east parking area at the school on April 6, when school was closed for spring recess.

“The work has already commenced and removal will be completed before students return to school for classes on Monday, April 16," reads Weiss’s statement, which noted that the core structure of the building remains safely intact.  “… The decision to remove the remainder of the suspended ceiling is an important safety decision that completely removes the possibility of any further issues, since the structures will be gone.”

The ceiling overhangs school entrances and the parking area, and the decision to remove it was based on an evaluation from structural engineers, district architects and a construction management firm that evaluated the 41-year-old building.

Peter Wilk, a spokesperson for the construction and renovation team at LBHS, Gramercy Wrecking & Environmental Contractors, said that crews removed the debris of the collapsed section of the ceiling by Saturday, within 24 hours of the incident.

“The demolition of the remaining suspended ceiling is progressing, following the decision of the Long Beach City School District to completely remove the ceiling panels and their support system,” Wilk said in an email Monday.

Long Beach High School will remain closed as cleanup continues, and all sports practices and games have been moved to the middle school for the duration of the recess.