School districts deal with lost power, cleanup

Schools throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley and well beyond were shuttered Wednesday, and maybe longer, after Tuesday’s fast-moving thunderstorms.

Several trees, two power poles and a transformer were brought down by strong winds at New Kensington-Arnold’s Valley High School and a port-a-john was flipped upside down.

The district canceled school Wednesday because of the storms, said Superintendent Christopher Sefcheck.

As of Wednesday morning, there was no power at the high school, its stadium or the administration building, he said. The Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center, which is in the same campus, had some power, Sefcheck said.

“We’re still surveying to see if there’s any more damage,” he said. “Right now, it’s just cleaning everything up.”

Penn Hills School District remained closed Wednesday “due to power outages, blocked roadways and exposed power lines,” after the district had canceled after-school activities Tuesday night.

Pittsburgh Public Schools initially announced a two-hour delay Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, school was canceled because of power outages. There’s no word on Thursday classes, but the district’s school board meeting was still scheduled for Wednesday night.

Allegheny Valley School District is waiting to determine if in-person classes will be held Thursday, said district spokeswoman Jan Zastawniak.

“(Acmetonia Elementary) still does not have power, and the district has not heard any estimated time that power may be restored,” Zastawniak said in an email.

The district called for a flexible instruction day Wednesday.

“Acmetonia Elementary lost power last night during the storm. About 10 p.m., the call was made to have a two-hour delay due to the power outage,” Zastawniak said. “This morning, about 6 a.m., the power had not been restored, so a change was made to have a Flexible Instruction Day.”

The elementary school’s PSSA testing was postponed.

Kiski Area School District also announced its closure and decided against a remote learning day “due to widespread power outages.”

The Plum School District started the day with the intent to reopen the building for after-school activities. The campus remained closed for the day.

“Plum Senior High School, Plum Middle School, Holiday Park Intermediate School, and our Transportation building remain without power and are currently supported by emergency power,” said a statement from the school.

“Please note that our generators are intended for temporary emergency use only and are insufficient to sustain normal school operations. Transportation also remains a challenge due to local road closures and crews working on restoring power to our community.”

District officials are “monitoring conditions” regarding outages. As of Wednesday evening, the district did not announce if classes would be held Thursday.

Sefcheck, at New Ken-Arnold, made the decision to close Tuesday evening and notified parents of the power outage.

“The district is assessing the situation and is in contact with West Penn Power to determine if it has to close at all,” he said.

There was no damage to any district buildings or facilities, Sefcheck said.

He said he has been in contact with West Penn Power about when power might be restored and when school could reopen. As of Wednesday evening, the district did not announce if classes would be held Thursday. Scheduled testing will be pushed back upon students’ return to school, Sefcheck said.