Seven schools on St. Thomas have closed for the day, effective immediately, due to ongoing electrical service interruptions, according to a release the Education Department issued just before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
With “no confirmed restoration time from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority,” officials decided to close the schools, the release stated. “The lack of electricity has also affected water access and overall campus operations, making it unsafe for schools to remain open.”
The outages come as the territory is experiencing high winds and rain from a frontal boundary moving across the northeastern Caribbean. Inclement weather is expected to continue into Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The following St. Thomas schools will be closed effective immediately:
- Lockart K-8 School
- Ulla F. Muller Elementary School
- Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School
- Joseph Sibilly Elementary School
- Lockart K-8 School
- Yvonne Miller-Bowsky Elementary School
- Edith Williams Alternative Academy
Parents and guardians are encouraged to follow official VIDE communication platforms and individual schools’ Facebook pages for the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding school operations and the reopening of affected campuses, according to the release.
WAPA has been troubleshooting multiple outages across St. Thomas since Monday evening. According to an alert issued at 10 a.m. Wednesday, “rain and gusty winds are slowing restoration efforts, but our crews are working diligently to restore power as safely and quickly as weather conditions allow.”
The utility also noted that a portion of customers previously on Feeder 8B (from Peterborg to Drake’s Seat) are now part of Feeder 7A and are currently impacted by the 7A outage.
