Greensboro School Damaged From EF-2 Tornado Will Close

One of three school buildings damaged by a tornado in Greensboro last year will not reopen. The Guilford County Board of Education voted this week to close Hampton Elementary.

It will close at the end of the school year. Superintendent Sharon Contreras says one of the reasons is the prior condition of the building. It was constructed in 1964 and is in need of a lot of repairs.

There are also concerns about the school's proximity to a former landfill that's monitored by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The Guilford County Board of Education says parent surveys were included in the decision process.

Students at Peeler, Hampton, and Erwin Montessori were relocated after a devastating EF-2 tornado hit Greensboro last April. The district is still working with its insurance company on settling claims for the damaged buildings. The estimated replacement value for Hampton alone is more than $35 million.

But the Hampton school name could come back in the future. District officials say the hope is to build a new Hampton-Peeler school in East Greensboro with proceeds from insurance.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news