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Flooded Oakland School District Building Closed Until Spring

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Employees who work at the flood-damaged Oakland Unified School District administration building are expected to not be able to return to the space until later this spring, a district spokesman said.

The building at 1025 Second Ave., near Lake Merritt, was discovered severely damaged on Jan. 8 when a faucet was left on overnight in a fourth-floor janitor's closet, soaking all four floors, spokesman Troy Flint said.

About 1,440 gallons of water spilled into the building during the course of about eight hours, leaving some ceilings and floors nearing collapse.

The extent of the damage to the building, first constructed in 1919, is being assessed, however initial building inspections are expected to take up to 10 weeks, Flint said.

Follow-up building rehabilitation will take additional time, keeping administrators out of the building through the end of the school year, he said.

Staff has been relocated to various school district locations, with certain departments temporarily housed at schools.

A full list of department temporary locations is available at www.ousd.k12.ca.us.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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