First Day of School, take two

The first day of school at Lincoln turned into a full day of recess after problems with the power prompted the administration to close for the day and send the students home.

"First day of school; always something on the first day, I tell ya," Lincoln Schools Superintendent Jen Packer told the BVD.

Packer said when they got to school, they found there was only intermittent power throughout the building. In some rooms, the lights would come on, but computers had no power. Other rooms had power to the outlets, but not to the lights.

Northwestern Energy came out and replaced a fuse, only to have it blow right away. They traced the problem to an issue with the underground power line between the school and Highway 200. Packer said they had to excavate the power line, which was old, had gotten wet and began shorting.

The power issues also affected the restrooms, leading to the decision to send the student's home since the school can't be in session without working toilets.

"It was funny. The older kids were like, 'yeah!'" Packer said. "The younger kids were like 'this is the worst first day ever!'"

She said the teachers were very helpful in getting hold of all the parents to let them know what was going on. If the Lincoln School Board agrees to count the closure as one of the school's emergency days, the kids won't have to make it up later in the year.

With the power line repaired both the first day of school and the open house that follows were rescheduled for Tuesday.

Packer said the first day of school last year was plagued by a sewer back up.