Berkeley middle school closed for 2 years because of wood rot [Video]

Longfellow Arts & Technology Middle School in Berkeley has survived two massive Bay Area earthquakes, economic upheaval and changing demographics. Its latest foe may finally deal a death blow.

“There’s been kind of an attempt to make up for years of infrastructure deficiencies. And finally, the remodels are happening,” said parent Diana Negrin, who has a 12-year-old daughter who attends Longfellow. “And we got this news last week, first week out of vacation, that the remodel at Longfellow is not going to be done.” 

Far from a remodel, Longfellow needs to be rebuilt.

Installation of new windows on June 7 revealed the presence of dry rot in the wood of the primary structural beams on the southside of the building.

Berkeley Unified School District officials posted a message on its website that reads in part, “The supports of this building are crumbling and have created an unsafe condition…The structural integrity of this building has been compromised… We are working …