DELTONA, Fla. – Next week, students in Volusia County will head back to school, but part of one high school is going to be off-limits.
A sinkhole opened up in June next to a building at Deltona High School and work to fix it will not be done before students arrive.
A maintenance worker at the school discovered the sinkhole, and since then, an engineer and construction crew were brought in to fill it and repair the damage.
"We were very fortunate we found it very early before anything drastic could happen on campus," said Nancy Wait, the community outreach director for Volusia County Schools.
The school board authorized up to $400,000 for the repair work. The district said the damage could've been much worse.
"They found out the hole did not actually go under any of our buildings, but it skirted the building," said Wait.
The construction is expected to go on through September. Wait says the area will be off-limits to all students.
Since June, crews put 41 pilings under the building to stabilize it. The repair work calls for some things to be fixed inside the school's music building, so band and chorus will have to meet elsewhere on campus.
In the days leading up to the start of school, crews are filling the hole with concrete. The district is ensuring parents students will be safe.
"Our students will be safe. We won't allow them into the construction area until it has been declared safe by our engineer," said Wait.
The construction affects the parking lot that teachers and staff usually park in and is also part of the parent drop-off area. Wait said parents should anticipate some re-routing.