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S.P. Morton Elementary School is back to full operations after an electrical issue creating a power outage led to a full closure of the school May 22-23 and a partial closure on May 24.

The issue was resolved and all students were able to return to school Thursday, May 25.

THE ISSUE AND THE SOLUTION

Franklin City Public Schools Supervisor of Operations Johnathan Smith shared how the first half of the week unfolded.

“So Monday(, May 22,) around mid-morning, we got a call of power issues at the school,” he said. “Maintenance responded immediately, and we were able to troubleshoot that the main breaker that feeds power to the main building had failed.”

A news release from FCPS also confirmed that phone lines were down.

“We contacted Bay Electric, and they came out to verify the breaker and started trying to locate a replacement,” Smith stated.

He said that Tuesday morning, May 23, Bay Electric was able to locate a replacement out of state and had it overnighted.

“It arrived Wednesday around noon, and (they) had it replaced and working by mid-afternoon,” Smith said. “Huge credit goes to Bay Electric for response time and due diligence on helping us find the new breaker and making repairs. Also to Franklin Power and Light for helping us also.” 

IMPACT ON THE STUDENTS

According to FCPS news releases, SPM students were dismissed at 1 p.m. on May 22, and the school was closed May 23.

In another release, FCPS Superintendent Dr. Carlton Carter said on May 23 that after consulting with his staff, grades three through five would return to classes at their regular time on May 24, and they would report to Modulars A and B. However, pre-K through second grade would stay out one more day.

In a May 24 release, Carter stated that all students in all grades were to return to classes at their regular time beginning on Thursday, May 25.

The Standards of Learning testing schedule had to be adjusted slightly due to the electrical issue.

FCPS Director of Assessments and Accountability Meta Stratton said, “The SOL scheduled for May 24 was moved to June 6. This adjustment is well within the state’s testing window. No adjustments were made to the test schedule for June 1.”