ASHTABULA COUNTY, Ohio — The post-Thanksgiving snowstorm last year did all sorts of damage, with no more prominent than the roof collapse at Lakeside High School in Ashtabula.
Now, engineers with the school district are recommending tearing down the entire academic wing at the 17-year-old high school.
"We’re recommending we demolish the building and start from the footers," superintendent Lisa Newsome told News 5.
The decision is not final — the school district and insurance provider still need to settle on the plan moving forward.
After the snowstorm, the district was forced to pivot to remote learning and eventually spread out students at different buildings across the area in January.
Check out how students were adjusting to class in a former elementary school:
For the first time, Superintendent Newsome took video cameras inside to see what’s left of the academic wing.
"It’s sad," Newsome said. "It breaks my heart every time I walk in here and every time I look at it. If you were in it when it was up and running, it is and was a beautiful building."
Since the recommendation is not for a total tear down, Newsome said the hope is to reopen half of the building that houses the gymnasium and auditorium.
"Hopefully we can use that part and rebuild the front," superintendent Newsome said.
The post-Thanksgiving snowstorm did all sorts of damage - nothing more prominent than the roof collapse at Lakeside HS in Ashtabula.
— Clay LePard (@ClayLePard) April 11, 2025
Now, engineers with the school district are recommending tearing down the entire academic wing at the 17-year-old building https://t.co/YBJGQEx15N pic.twitter.com/pAjR3fBY94
The superintendent reiterated that there is no timeline for when a decision could be finalized, when demolition could begin if approved, and when students could be allowed to return to the auditorium and gymnasium portion of the building.
This is not the first problem with this 17-year-old building.
Back in 2011, the school district sued the original builders, the now defunct Blaze Construction, over poor workmanship and a roof that leaked almost immediately. That case settled with the district receiving about $3 million, Newsome said.
That company's CEO ended up being sentenced to three years in prison in 2013 for his role in the Jimmy Dimora corruption scandal. Records show he died last year.
“Our goal and our focus is not on that," Newsome said. "It’s on how do we fix this and how to we get back in there."
