Classes will resume Tuesday at McCulloch Intermediate and Highland Park Middle School after a power surge caused a mechanical issue that led to the closure of the campus Monday, according to the district.
Highland Park ISD said in a message to parents that power was restored Monday and crews were finishing the remaining repairs at the building. Eighth-grade and social studies STAAR testing is rescheduled to April 23, and the fifth and eighth grade science STAAR will continue as planned on April 22. Friday will still be a STAAR makeup day for all of the exams.
Highland Park ISD said MIS/HPMS students won’t need to make up the missed day on Monday because there were sufficient minutes built-in to the instructional calendar.
“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we worked to ensure a safe and fully functional learning environment for our school community,” Highland Park ISD said in an email.
The district said rain over the weekend caused a transformer fuse on an exterior light pole to fail, leading to the power surge. The power surge impacted several building systems, including electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, according to Highland Park ISD.
The cancellation of classes Monday followed a report of smoke in the MIS/HPMS building on April 19.
The issues became apparent in the early afternoon while fifth through eighth grade drama students prepared for their final, sold-out performance of Beauty and the Beast Jr. Students evacuated the building and the performance was initially pushed to 5 p.m. before being cancelled.
The Sunday, April 19 Beauty and the Beast Jr. show has since been rescheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, April 24.
HPMS Raider Drama shared in a post on Instagram that those who held tickets for Sunday can have their tickets and exact seats transferred for the April 24 show. For those who’d like to buy tickets for Friday, they will be released as they become available here.
“We truly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding over the last two days. We can’t wait to welcome another sold out crowd on Friday!” HPMS Raider Drama’s post read.
Editor Sarah Hodges contributed reporting to this article.
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