Students and staff at Medomak Middle School will return to in-person instruction Thursday after a water system failure forced the school to switch to remote learning for the last month.
The closure began the week of Feb. 28, when students did not return to the Waldoboro school after winter break due to the failure of an electrical panel that controls the school’s water system, according to Regional School Unit 40 Superintendent Steve Nolan. The failure impacted the water supply needed for domestic and fire suppression purposes within the school.
The system was installed when the school was built in 2008, according to a letter sent to families and staff earlier this month. However, the controller that was installed is no longer sold or serviced in the U.S., which forced the district to go through the time-consuming process of replacing “the entire control panel and all of its components,” according to the letter.
“It took a while to find someone with the knowledge, skills and availability to rebuild the controls and then additional time to complete the work and test the system,” Nolan said.
While it has taken longer than anticipated, Nolan said Wednesday afternoon that the system has been repaired.
Due experience gained through the pandemic, Nolan said school officials were better prepared to make the switch to remote learning.
“We have done our best to work with students and their families to accommodate students and will continue to support students as they transition back to in-person instruction,” Nolan said.