Maumelle, Arkansas – Two schools in Maumelle are closed for the day Tuesday after an electrical outage left the campuses without several essential services.
The Pulaski County Special School District announced that Maumelle Middle School and Maumelle High School would be closed on September 8 because of the power outage. The closure affects students at both schools as crews work to restore electricity.
The outage has left the campuses without air conditioning, internet access and telephone service. With those systems unavailable, school operations cannot continue as usual, prompting the district to keep both schools closed for the day.
Power was expected to return during the late morning or early afternoon. Officials estimated that electricity could be restored at both locations between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
The timing of the restoration estimate means the schools could potentially regain power during the school day, but students will not remain on campus while the outage continues. Instead, the district has made arrangements for students to return home.
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Students who normally use school buses will be taken back to their respective drop-off locations. The district also asked parents and families who had driven their students to school to return and pick them up.
The closure creates a temporary disruption for students, teachers and families at the two Maumelle campuses. Without air conditioning as well as internet and telephone service, the schools are unable to operate normally while the electrical problem remains unresolved.
Families were encouraged to make the necessary arrangements for their children following the district’s announcement. Bus transportation will continue to play a role in getting students home, while parents who personally brought their children to school are responsible for picking them up.
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Officials have not indicated that the closure will extend beyond Tuesday. The immediate expectation is that electricity will be restored at the two schools between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., allowing normal services to return once the outage is resolved.
For Maumelle Middle School and Maumelle High School families, Tuesday’s closure is a short-term interruption caused by the loss of electrical service. The district’s response is focused on getting students safely back to their homes while power is restored at both campuses.
