MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Employees at the Cornerstone Learning Center in Southeast Memphis opened up their building last Tuesday morning to find sewage everywhere.
The school lost everything, but luckily, a nearby Germantown church is helping them out.
Mechele Rodgers, the preschool’s owner, says it didn’t take long for every inch of their 20,000-square-foot building to flood.
“There was literally sewage spilling out of every door, every open door,” Rodgers said. “They had to cut the power because we have outlets in the ground.”
She says their sewer line backed up and the sewer water was two inches high when city crews showed up.
“It was just pouring out. It was not stopping.”
No children were let in and the building was evacuated.
“We lost absolutely everything. We lost every crayon, every coat bag that a child might have left in there. We had nothing. They completely emptied the building.”
Rodgers is looking at $300,000 dollars in damage and isn’t sure her insurance will cover her lost equipment or nearly a weeks worth of lost tuition.
She says she leases the building from the House of Memphis Church. Repairs are ongoing and should be done in a month,
As of this week, the school is operating out of the Germantown Baptist Church for free until repairs are done, meaning 150 kids can still go to school.
“We wanted to be a good neighbor and show the love of Christ to them by providing this space for the season,” said Josh Creason, pastor of Germantown Baptist.
Rodgers is grateful for that as she waits to see if her insurance and/or the city will cover what she lost.
We called the city to find out what caused the backup and were told they can`t comment because the issue has become a legal matter.
That`s because Rodgers has submitted a claim for damages.