Capistrano Unified Schools Cancelled Friday

Note: Even if power returns, classes are cancelled Friday.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO—All schools in the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) will be closed on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, due to the power outage affecting Southern Orange and San Diego counties.
The District, like many school districts serviced by San Diego Gas and Electric, has decided to cancel classes for its students. A decision regarding Friday evening sporting events has not yet been made.
“We have no assurance that power will be restored by the time school begins tomorrow morning, and local emergency jurisdictions have advised the District to suspend classes until power is restored,” Superintendent Joe Farley said. “We are sorry for the obvious inconvenience to our working families, but it is clearly not proper to have students in school without electricity to power key systems including lights, refrigeration, and computers.”
The decision to close schools was made for a number of reasons, including the lack of power at school sites and the difficulty many staff members will have commuting to work from their homes in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. Only the CUSD staff members who have been specifically notified should report to work on Friday, Sept. 9.
Power is expected to be restored in time for school on Monday. For more information, please call the District’s Hotline at (949) 234-5575, which will be open at 7 a.m. or visit the District website at www.capousd.org .

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Comments

[RegisterReader]

This is a conspiracy by the union left to have school cancelled because teachers wanted one more day at the beach. My first thought when the power went out was that this was the hand of the teachers' union to bring about one more paid holiday and three day weekend. It is my hope that the authorities will investigate this.

[Teresa]

Thank you for the giggle RegisterReader...you always cheer me up :)

I am off to go work in my classroom...the beach will need to wait!

[jollygirl]

RR you are a little too close to some of the Patch comments today...but I too thank you for the giggle.

And Teresa, I am pretty certain you will not be alone at your school. My very best wishes for a great school year for you and your dedicated colleagues. But do try to take a little time for yourself in the next month or two. I know how it goes.

[Pacman]

Why exactly the school is closed today ??? power was restored, did it not ?

[Common Sense]

Power was restored, but district officials needed to go through all of the systems -- computers, HVAC, security, phones, etc. -- to ensure they're all working and back up to snuff before allowing students back.

I'm sure they anticipated criticism if they did it ... and criticism if they didn't.

[Pacman]

Saddleback is operating today ! How come they were able to go through all their "computers/HVAC etc..." ??

[Tabby]

Pacman, Saddleback Unified had few schools (if any) affected by the outage, and their district office was never down. Capo's food services were affected,too, so food would have been an issue to provide for students (especially the free/reduced lunches). And, by the way, emergency services advised the district to close the district for the day. Life happens.

[Practical]

Dr. Farley waited as long as he could before he cancelled school. Working families need to make arangements if their children are not in school.

[Rhetorick]

Saddleback wasn't affected at all, they are not served by SDG&E. There was no way that CUSD could have made any other choice. SDG&E informed all customers yesterday that we'd be without power until Friday evening. CUSD was going by the information that they had and had to make a decision at that time. SDG&E this morning said that restoration of power went far quicker and smoother than anticipated. Today, most school systems in San Diego are closed just like CUSD, this was absolutely the right choice with the information that was available at the time. Monday morning quarterbacks always can do the job better!

[Teacher w/ Feet Firmly on the Ground]

As a frequent critic and victim of the actions of school boards in the recent past, I want to say that I'm very impressed with the leadership exhibited by the current powers-taht-be when things haven't gone exactly as planned. It is clear that decisions are being made with the latest intelligence and in consideration of as many people as possible. Communication has been excellent, given the limited time frame to disseminate information. Not everyone will be happy when there's a hiccup, but this board, superintendent and district officials are acting in the best interests of the CUSD community and it's an encouraging thing to witness. I post on here when they get it wrong, so it's only right that I do the same thing when they get it right. Here's to a productive and peaceful school year. And by the way, I spent a couple of hours in my classroom today too. Only saying it so folks don't get the impression that I'm so generous in my praise because of the unexpected day off.