HAVERHILL — The high school was closed today and a number of after-school event canceled because one of the school's boilers shut down, leaving the building without heat on one of the coldest days of the year.
Superintendent Raleigh Buchanan said he got a call this morning at 6:15 a.m. that there was a heating problem due to a malfunctioning boiler.
He said it would take at four to five hours to fix, so he decided to shut the school for the day.
"We couldn't have people in the building without heat," he said.
However, buses had already begun picking up some high school students and the district's emergency phone call system malfunctioned, leaving many students and staff unaware of the problem.
Buchanan said a number of children were returned to their bus stops and those who did show up at the school were either given rides home or called their parents to be picked up.
He said heat should be restored by this afternoon, and that no pipes had burst as of about 9 a.m. today. Maintenance crews are bleeding the system, releasing air and water in certain places before re-charging the system.
Cancellations:
Haverhill High School has cancelled the following events while repairs are being made to the building's heating system:
— The girls basketball game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today is cancelled and will be rescheduled.
— The talent show scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
— The middle school basketball tournament that was to begin at noon tomorrow has been cancelled and will be rescheduled. The school will be announcing the days and times these events will be taking place.
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