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Power outage closes Santa Monica High School after ‘major blown fuse’

A wall with a blue and gold mural and the Santa Monica High School seal
Officials said they expect classes at Santa Monica High School to resume Wednesday.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Santa Monica High School canceled classes Tuesday after a “major blown fuse” knocked out power, school district officials said.

Southern California Edison and school staff have been working to repair the wiring since Saturday, but power was not expected to be restored until late Tuesday morning at the earliest, according to a statement from Antonio Shelton, superintendent for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

Many after-school activities were expected to continue, though the high school’s closure will also close the Infant and Toddler Center on its campus.

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“It is unfortunate that this situation has a snowball effect requiring the loss of a school day, however, we are unable to have school without lighting, including in restrooms, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), no phones, other electrical needs, and no use of the kitchen to provide food services for students,” the statement said.

Caltech is dropping requirements for high school calculus, chemistry and physics courses for students without access to them and will offer other ways to demonstrate knowledge in those fields.

Aug. 31, 2023

Other district schools were not affected by the outage, but food service will be limited because Santa Monica High serves as the main district kitchen.

Breakfast and lunch would be served at other schools Tuesday, but on a limited scale, without special diet items. Shelton asked that students bring their own lunch Tuesday, if possible.

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School officials expect classes to resume Wednesday.

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