A power outage at the main building of Watson Chapel High School prompted an early dismissal of the campus Tuesday, the Watson Chapel School District announced through its alert system.
The campus will remain closed Wednesday as Entergy crews continue their work. The school district plans to provide another update by noon Wednesday regarding its status for Thursday.
“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unexpected disruption,” the district stated. “The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain top priority.”
All other Watson Chapel School District campuses will operate on a normal schedule, but Wednesday’s missed instructional day will be made up later in the school year, the district announced. The high school football team is scheduled for practice at 9 a.m., and the junior high school team will practice at its regularly scheduled time.
Watson Chapel High students were dismissed at 1 p.m. as all other campuses operated on their normal schedules, according to the district.
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Superintendent Keith McGee said a fuse on an on-site pole near the auto mechanic
shop blew at about 8:30 a.m. District officials could hear the boom from the administration office next door, McGee said.
“I was told yesterday we had heavy rain and that the power went out last night,” McGee said. “(Entergy crews) came in and replaced the fuse, and the fuse went out. We’re trying our best to make it work. We thought we could get it done without interrupting the school, but there’s no way. They have to shut down power to repair the problem.”
The high school operated as normal at the start of the school day, McGee said, but the outage affected the cafeteria and the air conditioning unit.
“We made provisions. We got electric stoves to cook pizza so we could feed the students,” McGee said.