Solar Panel Collapses Continue at Teaneck Schools

Solar panels fell Thursday morning outside Benjamin Franklin Middle School, just days after three large panels came down at Bryant School over the weekend.

The solar panel at Benjamin Franklin School collapsed at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Parking had been suspended under the canopy after snow brought down three panels Saturday night at Bryant School, trapping about 10 vehicles but caused no injuries.

Teaneck officials on Tuesday met with architects, engineers and construction personnel who installed the solar canopies at Teaneck schools and at Eugene Field, according to a message posted Wednesday on the district website.

"The district has mandated that two things happen simultaneously: the removal of collapsed solar panels from Bryant School parking lot/retrieval of trapped vehicles and the determination of cause for the collapse at Bryant," Superintendent Barbara Pinsak wrote in the message.

The district also closed walkways under the solar canopies at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Hawthorne School although preliminary reports indicated no issues at those locations, the superintendent said.