The WACO Community School District is taking its next steps following storms that caused damage to its buildings and facilities. Storms moved through Wayland early Tuesday evening, causing damage around WACO Junior-Senior High School. 

WACO Superintendent Spencer Lueders says damage included debris scattered onto and around Roth Field, while strong winds destroyed the press box. Damage was also done to the school’s agri-science center. Lueders says the main building experienced “a little bit” of damage, but ultimately could have been a lot worse.

The storms arrived as the WACO soccer team was hosting Danville. No injuries were reported. Photos from the scene showed a section of a grain bin coming to rest on one of the field’s 18-yard boxes.

With Tuesday’s storms in the rearview mirror, cleanup efforts are underway. Lueders says the process started the night of the storm, ensuring that everyone present at the field at the time of the storm were able to get home safely. He says the district will come up with a plan to address the damage, but the district has also received an outpouring of community support,  “We have a ton of people who have already reached out to help us remove some of that debris that’s around our property. Our focus beyond the removal of all those things is really just what’s the next step in terms of rebuilding. We have a tremendous amount of community support, which is a blessing, and it’s really just ensuring that that’s done thoughtfully and planned out well, and I know that we’ll do that.”

The district plans to share more information in the coming days for those who are interested in assisting with the cleanup effort. 

Tuesday’s storms were just one round in a bout of severe weather in southeastern Iowa, with more storms in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. Listen to KCII for weather updates.