NEOGA, Ill. (WAND) - The Neoga School District held an emergency board meeting Sunday evening. The community center was packed with teachers, parents, and students anxiously waiting to hear what's next for their school.

Friday evening, an EF-2 tornado swept through the Neoga schools, impacting the structure of the buildings.

"The junior high has a giant hole down the entire corridor, and that roof system is completely gone..." explained Andrew Ewing, the Neoga District Architect. This weekend, Ewing and his team accessed urgent repairs needed, as well as concerns and potential safety risks, before students can be back at those desks.

Superintendent Kevin Haarman is hopeful to rebuild their campus in a safe and timely matter. Haarman expressed at the meeting, "A recovery plan is already underway, and we will ensure repairs are completed as quickly as possible while maintaining a high safety and quality standards."

Haarman emphasized that safety is their top priority. With school being closed the week of March 17th through the 21st, the district hopes to develop a long term plan for resuming instruction. 

After many hours of hard work Saturday and Sunday, the roof is protected and clean-up is underway. 

Although emphasizing that plans can change, Haarman laid out a loose plan to hopefully have students back in the classroom early next week.

"We think because of how good of shape the elementary school is currently in, we're very confident that we can get that building open and operational by next month. So that's the plan for pre-K through 8."

Although the junior and senior high school took the brunt of the damage, Haarman sees parts of the school that could be utilized soon. "High school students could be occupying that north section of the high school."

Another option under consideration is utilizing the community center classrooms and space. Haarman shared at the meeting that Lakeland College offered space to hold classes for students, but Haarman emphasized his goal towards keeping students in Neoga.

The district shared they will continue to provide updates and communication with faculty and families as progress is made. Haarman added, he is proud of the work already being done and looks forward to the progress in the coming days. "We will get through this. We will thrive."

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