Fayette County Board of Education closed the south complex after a water main broke this morning in the Starr’s Mill student parking lot.

The break, which flooded the left side of the parking lot and blocked traffic from Panther Path, forced school officials to send home students and staff from Peeples Elementary School, Rising Starr Middle School, and Starr’s Mill High School. 

“When you don’t have water going into the facility, the main issue is restrooms,” Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Patterson said. 

After an extended 1st period, Starr’s Mill Principal Allen Leonard came over the announcements at 9:38 a.m. to inform students of the dismissal.

Principals released students from the high school at 9:45 a.m, followed by the middle school at 10:15 a.m. and the elementary school at 10:45 a.m. The day is not being turned into a virtual learning day.

To-go lunches were provided in the cafeteria, and school buses returned from their morning routes to transport students home.

“I would like to thank the community and the parents and our students for their understanding of this type of situation,” Patterson said. “I would especially like to apologize to our teachers and our students for the learning that will be missed out on today and the inconvenience it has caused.”

County officials expect the cause of the break to be identified and fixed in time to resume normal school operations tomorrow.