Lake Orion High School was dismissed for the day and two other schools were forced to move after a power outage in parts of the township struck shortly after sessions began on Monday.
‘Approximately 600 customers were affected from 7:41 to 10:40 a.m. due to a transformer problem at the Pontiac Station, located at 1835 Waldon Road,? said Michael Palchesko of DTE Energy.
The problem affected some of the distribution circuits in Orion Township.
Palchesko said some Orion customers were without power in the early part of the afternoon, but everyone appeared to be back in service by mid-afternoon.
The outage almost coincided with the first bells at the high school.
‘We do have a generator, but because of the size of the (high school), it could not cover everything,? Lake Orion Schools Superintendent Christine Lehman said of the decision to cancel high school classes for the day.
‘We have plans, but each situation is unique,? Lehman said of how the remaining two schools were handled.
Students at Scripps Middle School were moved to Waldon Middle School, where parents had an option to pick up their students. Those students not picked up by the end of the day were transported home by their regular buses.
Students from Stadium Drive Elementary were relocated to Blanche Sims Elementary, where school continued as normal, according to Lehman. Those students were dismissed at normal times and their regular buses transported them home.
Schools were back to normal Tuesday.
‘Our biggest problem this time was that the communications were out in those buildings,? Lehman said, noting that phone and e-mail capabilities were lost for most of the district.
Announcements were made on several area television and radio stations and many staff members contacted parents using their personal cell phones.
‘Our staff and community members chipped in and did whatever they could do to help,? Lehman said.