The Lights Have Been On At a Massachusetts School For Over a Year Because No One Can Turn Them Off

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Last edited Sun Jan 22, 2023, 07:54 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/the-lights-have-been-on-at-a-massachusetts-school-for-over-a-year-because-no-one-can-turn-them-off/2949599/

On edit, link to longer NBC article:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lights-massachusetts-school-year-no-one-can-turn-rcna65611

The Lights Have Been On At a Massachusetts School For Over a Year Because No One Can Turn Them Off

Blame it on the pandemic and "supply chain problems," says the school district's assistant superintendent of finance.

Published January 19, 2023 • Updated on January 19, 2023 at 2:06 pm

For nearly a year and a half, a Massachusetts high school has been lit up around the clock because the district can’t turn off the roughly 7,000 lights in the sprawling building.

The lighting system was installed at Minnechaug Regional High School when it was built over a decade ago and was intended to save money and energy. But ever since the software that runs it failed on Aug. 24, 2021, the lights in the Springfield suburbs school have been on continuously, costing taxpayers a small fortune.

“We are very much aware this is costing taxpayers a significant amount of money,” Aaron Osborne, the assistant superintendent of finance at the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, told NBC News. “And we have been doing everything we can to get this problem solved.”

Osborne said it’s difficult to say how much money it's costing because during the pandemic and in its aftermath, energy costs have fluctuated wildly.

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