Oxford schools have been forced to delay opening until Sept. 6.
School was supposed to open Wednesday, Aug. 31.
The lack of electricity in much of Oxford, coupled with the fact some roads are still impassable, led to the decision to delay opening day, interim School Superintendent James Connelly said
.
Only one of the town’s four public schools — the Center School on Route 67 — has power, Oxford Fire Department Chief Scott Pelletier said.
Oxford High School is running on a generator and being used as a location for residents without power to take showers.
The Board of Education offices on Great Hill Road didn’t have power Tuesday afternoon. Phone lines were not working.
Now the challenge is to get the word out to the community, when the school office itself has no phone or Internet service. District officials were planning to make arrangements to send out robo-calls to residents.
“We’re also going to have some signs printed and put them on the buildings,” Connelly said.
There are 2,200 students enrolled in the Oxford School District, the superintendent said.
The decision to delay the first day of school came after an emergency management meeting with town officials.