Spotswood H.S. closes Monday due to outage

SPOTSWOOD — Students reported to Spotswood High School Monday morning but were sent home after two hours due to a power outage that had continued since a tractor-trailer knocked down nearby lines a day earlier.

The truck had picked up relief supplies Sunday that were collected by area residents for victims of Hurricane Katrina. As it was leaving the high school parking lot, which had apparently been used as a loading point, the tractor-trailer took down a utility pole and wiring, causing power to shut down in the immediate area, including at the high school and the borough police station, which used a generator to function.

Superintendent of Schools Anthony Vaz said he was notified of the outage in the late afternoon, but was told that Jersey Central Power & Light Co. would have power restored that evening. But when Vaz arrived at his office early Monday morning, crews were still working to bring power back at the high school. Vaz said he was then told to expect power by 9 a.m., and since the school day starts at 8 a.m., he decided against canceling school.

After students arrived and were assembled at the high school stadium, Vaz began hearing varying time estimates from JCP&L, ranging from two to five hours.

“At that point, we made the decision to cancel school,” he said. “The building was dark, we couldn’t service food.”

Students were sent home at 10 a.m.; power was finally restored closer to 10 p.m.

School resumed on Tuesday, and Vaz said he received a phone call with an apology from a local woman who had been involved in coordinating the shipment of relief supplies to Gulf Coast evacuees. Vaz said he told the woman her intentions were in the right place.

“It was a good thing they were doing that turned into something else,” he said. “But nobody got hurt, that’s the main thing.”

The high school will not have to make up the school day, but if any more days are canceled due to snow or emergencies, they will have to be made up at the end of the school year. Vaz said the last day of school is scheduled for June 19, but there is room for four days to be added after that, if needed. If more than four days must be made up, school officials will likely take them from spring break, he said.