Update: School officials have announced power has been restored and classes will be held on regular schedule Tuesday.
Previously: All Caledonia Schools will dismiss early today after a transformer blew this morning, leaving some of the buildings without power. School will dismiss at 1:15 p.m.
Superintendent Lynn Wright confirmed the power outage. Wright said he and administrators made the decision to dismiss after lunch so the students could remain in the classroom for 63 percent of the day and not risk having to make up the day. Citing the pending afternoon heat, Wright said he did not want students in classrooms without air conditioning.
The transformer will be replaced tody and Wright said he is optimistic the problem will be resolved in time for students to return to the classroom Tuesday morning. However, he warned that if the problem went beyond a blown transformer, school could be out for at least another day.
“If everything goes well, we could be up and running later this afternoon but we’ll have to play it be ear,” he said. “If there is damage to the lines under the ground, we could be in for a day or two.”
Wright said if Tuesday classes were cancelled, school officials would notify parents via phone call.
Monroe County Electric Power services the Caledonia school campus. A representative was not immediately available for comment.
The Dispatch will have more details as the story develops.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.