On Dec. 1, 2022, during the previous semester, there was a power outage at Casa Grande High School. A massive amp breaker blew, cutting off all electricity at the school, which closed the campus down for two days. 

School was canceled at 8:30 in the morning on Dec. 1. All students who had zero period that day had to contact their parents to arrange a ride home.

“Everywhere you looked, it was dark,” said Sophomore Ryan Honda when asked what it was like to be at school during the power outage. “Kids were turning on their flashlights on their phones to make it out of the classroom. Some of the students struggled to get WiFi and call their parents.”

Campus supervisors attempted to fix the problem with a large diesel generator that could hold enough power to run the school. Unfortunately, as supervisors rushed to the scene, the generator that was supposed to be used had been flooded by the rain storm that occurred the night before.

The staff quickly worked to order a replacement part for the damaged electrical system, and over that same December weekend, the school was back to having power in every building except for the M-Wing, which still had no electricity.

Since the M-wing had no power, a generator was quickly ordered to keep things running in the building during school hours as the replacement part was being shipped. It helped the M-Wing teachers to continue their lectures and class curriculums with lights and power.

Detailing her experience with having the generator in front of her classroom, M-Wing teacher, Mrs. Obbagy said, “There was a barrier that made access to the classroom difficult, which was annoying for the students, and the sound of the generator was not as bad as I thought it would be with the door closed, but students would come and go and I had to be there throughout  the day. Although there were some troubles, I was pleased with how quickly they were able to get it and keep our classes going; it could have been a lot worse.” 

The M-Wing generator stayed at the school for close to a week. It was eventually removed once the electrical issue had been fully corrected.

Since the school was closed for 2 days to fix the electrical problems, April 6 and 7 are now full-length school days as make-up days for the school. These are designated days during the high school’s spring break that can be used as school days when there are events which close Casa, such as wildfires, earthquakes or power outages such as this.

Casa Grande High School thanks their staff for being quick to fix the problems and returning the power back to the school.