Septic pump failure at Woodland Elementary results in temporary closure

Facility issues dramatically impacted school operations at Woodland Elementary last week. On Thursday afternoon, students were dismissed one hour early, and last Friday, school was unexpectedly canceled for students due to a septic failure. Woodland's secondary pump malfunctioned, failing to pump waste down to the tanks as it should have. In response, our team manually activated the primary pump, which allowed our custodial and maintenance teams to remedy the situation swiftly. During Woodland's closure on Friday, we successfully resolved the electrical pump issue, pumped out the sewer tanks, and cleared a main line clog. We also performed an interior system flush to confirm that operations have returned to normal.

The temporary closure of Woodland last week was a consequence of the aging infrastructure and deteriorating systems throughout the district and highlights the ongoing need for investment in infrastructure to address the growing backlog of critical maintenance and infrastructure needs.  While we cannot advocate for or against any specific funding proposal, it is important for our community to be aware of the challenges we face in maintaining our schools and the potential impacts on student learning and staff working conditions.

We are grateful for the prompt response of our school staff, custodial, and maintenance teams and the understanding shown by our staff and families.

For more information about our capital budget, please visit http://www.puyallupsd.org/capitalbudget.