Columbus power outages cause speculation about school closings. MCSD clarifies status
The severe thunderstorms that swept through the Chattahoochee Valley on Sunday and into early Morning morning caused power outages at some locations in the Columbus area — and perhaps a larger number of rumors about schools being closed.
As of 8:27 a.m. Monday in Muscogee County, Georgia Power reported 383 of its 89,596 customers were without power, and Flint Energies reported three of its 1,356 customers were without power.
There was enough speculation to prompt the Muscogee County School District to post on its Facebook page the following announcement at 6:50 a.m.:
“It has come to our attention that a false weather advisory has been circulating, stating that schools are operating on a virtual schedule today. Please be advised that this information is NOT accurate.
“. . . All schools are operating on a normal schedule today. However, please be aware that there may be bus delays this morning due to new routes and localized flooding in certain areas.”
Also in the announcement, MCSD urges folks who “see any questionable posts that do not come from an official MCSD source, please contact your school or the district office to verify the information.”
Then, at 10:26 a.m., MCSD communications director Kimberly Wright replied to the Ledger-Enquirer’s questions and acknowledged power outages indeed affected parts of the school district.
“Forrest Road Elementary School is the only school with a power outage impacting the school’s ability to operate as normal,” Wright told the L-E in an email. “Parents were given the option to keep their children or have children remain in MCSD’s care today. A plan was in place to transport students to an alternate site where in-person learning would take place and lunch would be served.”
Three MCSD schools (Hannan Elementary School, Johnson Elementary School and Jordan Vocational High School) had “brief” power outages “which had little to no impact on the schools’ ability to receive, feed and educate students,” Wright said. Those outages were resolved by 8:15 a.m., she said.
Nine MCSD had “brief” power outages which were resolved before the school day started, Wright said:
- Aaron Cohn Middle School
- East Columbus Magnet Academy
- Georgetown Elementary School
- Kendrick High School
- Mathews Elementary School
- Midland Academy
- Midland Middle School
- Waddell Elementary School
- Wesley Heights Elementary School.
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 9:18 AM.
