Scuola Vita Nuova (SVN) lost power at around midnight on Tuesday, January 16, causing the charter school’s HVAC equipment to stop running and leading to the cancellation of the school day on Wednesday, January 17.

When the school’s custodian arrived at around 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 17, they noticed water in the front office area and a building that was colder than normal. It was eventually revealed that in addition to the power outage, or perhaps because of it, a water pipe had burst below SVN’s front office. The school notified local news stations and sent out a message through its phone app informing parents that school was cancelled. Approximately 15-20 families arrived at school, but staff was outside to let them know that school had been cancelled and redirect them.

“The water was all over the front office area,” said Mary Pittala, Director of Finance and Operations at SVN. “It had just come up from the pipe that burst.”

Though the water didn’t affect classrooms, Pittala told the Northeast News that with the HVAC down over the course of a chilly night, it was best to cancel school.

“It was cold enough to where it would have been uncomfortable,” Pitalla said. “It’s more of an inconvenience and bad timing. We just wanted to play it safe.”

Pittala added that crews were still working on Wednesday afternoon to repair the broken pipe, though she noted that no SVN equipment was damaged as a result of the water leak. The school did not yet have an estimate on the cost of repairs, though Pittala suggested that SVN would be filing a claim with its insurance provider.

Despite the issues, Pittala said that SVN planned to re-open the school for a normal schedule on Thursday, January 18.

“At this point, we fully anticipate having school tomorrow,” Pittala said.