McPherson Says Many Records Remain Intact

A substantial quanfity of financial records and other important data has been salvaged from the fire-destroyed School Administration Building at 1220 Wells St, according to Supt. R. Bruce McPherson. McPherson attributed safety of the undamaged material to vault protection, effective action by the Ann Arbor Fire Department, and the chance location of various storage areas within the building. Salvaged data have been moved to secure and fireproof locations in the community. Paychecks for school district employés were among the material recovered, permitting the administration to meet its payroll obligation on schedule. Salvage crews were to remove portions of the roof today to enable further removal of equipment and records. The two portable units remaining on the Wells Street site will be evacuated during the roof removal. According to McPherson, the administration's preparation for the Nov. 29 resumption of fact-finding will not be seriously affected by the fire loss. "Emergency demands on their time will increase their work load substantially, but the Board's negotiating team will be prepared to participate in the fact-finding process on Monday." The damaged Wells Street Building remains extremely hazardous, the superintendent reported. The assistance of the Department of Building and Safety, the Housing Bureau and special salvage crews has been necessary for recovery operations. Security at the structure will continue and there is a strong possibility that the building will be razed. "The fire loss to the district is substantially in excess of the $200,000 figure reported," Dr. McPherson said. "The actual loss will not be determined until various investigations are completed and extent of salvage is determined," he added.