The first day of school at Vincent Massey Secondary ended before it even got started.
A watermain break outside of the school on Liberty Street caused the cancellation of classes for the day.
Greater Essex County District School Board CEO Vicki Houston says the school has no running water, so students have been sent home.
“There was a major main water break in piping outside of the school,” says Houston. “It focused the closure of the laneway between Glenwood and Massey, and because we have absolutely no running water and lack of bathroom space, it wouldn’t be safe to continue to run the facility, so unfortunately we’re going to have to close it.”
Houston was asked if she’s ever dealt with anything like this on the first day of school.
“We did have a fog day first day of school,” says Houston. “I think it was two years ago, and not that. That’s standard practice on the first day of school, but we always have fog days so you know how to handle those. This definitely not something that you can prepare or plan for, but always making sure that everybody is safe is the priority.”
Grade 12 student Ahmed says students were in class when the announcement was made.
“They just announced it randomly and told us on the announcements that school’s dismissed,” he says.
Houston says there are some students who are bussed to Massey, including those in the Special Education program.
She says none of them will be dismissed without parents or a guardian being contacted.
A GECDSB spokesperson tells AM800 that Vincent Massey is expected to reopen and welcome students on Wednesday morning.