JHN, CFA, and CHS Power Concerns

An Entergy transformer malfunctioned near the district office after 9:00 a.m.  Monday, August 23, causing JHN, CFA, and CHS to lose power.  Entergy crews arrived, and the initial report to the district was that power would be restored within the hour.  

When Entergy attempted to reset the transformer, this caused a malfunction with another transformer on Lincoln Street.  We were again informed that it would be less than an hour to make this repair.  

Once the repair was made, Entergy informed the district that there was an additional switch that had malfunctioned near Cabot High School.  

The district continued posting updates on social media during this time and made sure that all three schools were able to provide lunch service.  

CHS, CFA, and JHN are on a HVAC system that allows the temperature to be controlled from a master location. The district was monitoring the indoor temperature of these buildings at all times and would have reacted more aggressively had any of these buildings reached a point of concern.  

In hindsight, had we known that the initial estimates from Entergy for repairs were not accurate, we would have made additional notifications directly to parents. Our concern with dismissing all students at those locations was that buses would not be able to run until regular time. Dismissing 3,000 students, with many not having a way to get home or a structured schedule for the afternoon, was not a good option as long as the building was safe and comfortable.   

Unfortunately, once power was restored, it was confirmed that the outage had caused damage to the HVAC system at Junior High North. Parents have been notified that the facility will not have air conditioning for the remainder of Monday afternoon and adjustments have been made.  District crews will work throughout the night to make necessary repairs, and we will notify parents via phone, text, and email Tuesday morning if we are not able to provide onsite instruction at JHN on Tuesday.