Huge cracks were discovered in the walls and engineers say the building is unsafe.
A meeting was held for parents at the high school down the street because Congers Elementary School because it is unsafe for anyone to be inside right now. It's going to be that way for the entire school year.
Congers Elementary School was built back in the 1920s, but is literally falling apart.
There are cracks in a loadbearing wall that engineers have been trying to patch up for years.
Over the summer new cracks showed up and engineers determined that the building was no longer structurally sound.
Now just a week before the start of school the Clarkstown Central School District has to scramble, now that the building is going to be closed for the entire school year.
Students are going to be divided up by grade so they will stay together in their classes and with their grade.
Kindergarten and first grade will be together at one school, second and third grades at another school, and fourth and fifth grades at yet another school. They are being assigned to three elementary schools in the district.
There's the worry that it will certainly lead to overcrowding at those other schools.
The district says that it is simply out of options.
"I had the difficult task of talking to my children this weekend and they were very upset that they were not going to be attending the same school," said Karen Higgins, a parent, "In fact, I wrote to make sure that my children were going to be together, in the same school, and be at Congers, I chose that school because I love Congers, I love the community there."
"I understand that the school needs a lot of work, but I really truly feel that we as a community need these kids to stay together," another parent said.
Wednesday the students will be able to see their new classrooms at the new schools where they will be attending classes for the next year, and then school starts on Monday.
