Alabama high school damaged by tornado not likely to reopen

Jan. 28, 2021

Jefferson County district officials say Fultondale High School was extensively damaged last week in the storm.

About 650 students at Fultondale High School in Fultondale, Ala., don’t yet know when or where they’ll be able to go back to class their school was destroyed this week by a tornado.

WBRC-TV reports that Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin says students should not expect to return there this year, or even next year.

The school houses students in 7th through 12th grade.

Even before the tornado, district officials were planning to build a new high school, but that project won't be completed until 2022.

The new high school will be on the same property as the existing building, which was going to be renovated into an International Baccalaureate building.

Teachers, administrators and staff are all working together to figure out the next steps, and they are offering counseling to students who need it, especially pertaining to the death of their freshman classmate in the tornado on Monday.

Video from WVTM-TV: Tornado damage at high school.