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This summer's heavy storms swelled the city's rivers and washes, closed major roads and put a damper on Tucson's motto of continuously sunny days.

And several of the city's schools were heavily affected by the rain, causing some classrooms to be evacuated and remodeled in three districts.

A weekend storm starting July 31 and another last week caused leaks in small areas of schools on the eastern boundary of the Catalina Foothills School District, but the biggest damage was found at Ventana Vista Elementary School. Four classrooms at the school, at 6085 N. Kolb Road, were cleared for at least three days to repair water damage, Principal Kim Boling said. One classroom has been closed for two weeks after mold was found in the base of the wall.

The mold in the affected area — a portion of the wall that was unable to dry quickly — is not harmful to students, said district facilities director Basil Callimanis. Replacing the wall where mold was found is expected to take another week, Callimanis said, along with fixing other damage on the campus.

Mold is often found in dark, damp places, such as inside walls. It thrives on warm and humid conditions, which exist in Tucson during monsoon season.

To facilitate repairs, students were moved into empty classrooms, Boling said. The school was built for about 700 students and has about 450 attending this year, she said.

"We haven't seen damage like this before," Boling said, referring to the 12-year-old school. "It's been remarkable."

Boling held a meeting with concerned parents Monday, and Shantal Sweger said she now understands how difficult it is to repair a building and try to maintain a normal routine for students.

"It's got to be hard to move kids from one classroom to another to get the situation under control, but I feel they really are putting together a concerted effort to get things done," said Sweger, the mother of three at Ventana Vista.

Two schools in the Amphitheater Public Schools district suffered water damage from heavy rain, but no classes were relocated, district spokesman Todd Jaeger said.

Some walls were damaged at Coronado K-8 School, 3401 E. Wilds Road, he said, but the structure has been repaired. Water leaked into six classrooms at Harelson Elementary School, 826 W. Chapala Drive, when the school's drainage system failed to contain all the runoff from the storms. The carpets in those rooms will be replaced during fall break starting Oct. 7, Jaeger said.

Lynn/Urquides Elementary School was the only Tucson Unified School District building to experience major structural damage, facilities director Rudy Flores said.

About 15 trees were cut down at the school, at 1573 W. Ajo Way, and power was lost briefly when a microburst swept through the area on Aug. 24, Flores said. The roof and playground equipment also were damaged, he said.

Students were moved to other locations in the school as repairs were made and power was restored. Classroom activity returned to normal the next day, Flores said. Trees are being replanted.

The school is 55 years old, and it was due for repairs eventually, Flores said.

"Our average age of schools is 50 years old, and we have at least eight that are approaching 100 or are over 100," Flores said. A bond that passed in 2004 is paying for reconstruction at many of the sites.