At least nine Baltimore schools have had to shut down and move to virtual instruction in the past two weeks after burst pipes flooded buildings and heating systems went on the fritz.

The prolonged period of subfreezing temperatures has strained many city school buildings. On Monday, several were delayed in opening or went to virtual learning because of weather-related issues, including:

• Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary/Middle, Beechfield Elementary/Middle
• Forest Park High
• Dr. Nathan A. Pitts-Ashburton Elementary/Middle
• Liberty Elementary/Middle
• Arlington Elementary
• Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School
• Baltimore School for the Arts
• Fallstaff Elementary/Middle

By the next day, the school system had reduced the number to four. The school system has not provided more detailed information about the school closures, including what caused the issues in each school.

The Baltimore School for the Arts building will be closed until Wednesday after a burst pipe in the building flooded a portion of the school last week.

In a letter to parents, Baltimore City Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Lynette Washington said mold was discovered in the building.

“During demolition and repair work related to the flooding, facilities teams removed sections of walls and wall bases in impacted basement areas in order to properly dry materials and prevent further damage.”

The mold is now being “remediated,” Washington said.

The renowned school is located in a historic building on Mount Vernon Square and includes practice areas and a theater. It offers instruction in dance, music, theater, film, stage design and visual arts.

School officials have not explained where the flooding occurred in the building, but they said it was from a frozen pipe in the sprinkler system. Parents were invited to a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issues in the building.

The building is expected to reopen if it passes air-quality testing by Tuesday. In the meantime, students have been taking classes online, a solution that one parent said was lacking.

Debbie Land said her son usually has half a day of academics and half a day focused on the art that students are concentrating in. While the school has been closed, she said, they are getting academic teaching only every other day for four hours.

In 2018, the school system had to close dozens of schools during a period of extreme cold, bringing national attention to the system’s failing buildings. Heating systems broke down and pipes froze in aging schools. Since then, more than $1 billion has been spent on renovations and building new schools.

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