Water main break closes Va. school

Ninth-graders at the Minnie Howard campus of T.C. Williams High School are being sent home early Thursday after a water main break cut the school’s water supply.

The roughly 700 students were, at first, transferred to the school’s nearby King Street campus, where they got breakfast and waited on repairs. It soon became clear that the water supply would likely remain disrupted for the rest of the day, officials said.

The kids were bussed home at about 10:15 a.m.

T.C. Williams Principal Bill Clendaniel said the disruption comes at a bad time: The school is in the middle of conducting its Standards of Learning exams, the state tests that are used to comply with No Child Left Behind.

Testing that was set for today at Minnie Howard has been rescheduled for June 11. Testing at the King Street campus was to go forward today as planned.

Officials ask that students and parents check with the school on the status of repairs before returning to class Friday.

Parents can get updates on the school system’s Web site, and on the Alexandria City Public Schools Hotline at 703-866-5300.

At 11 a.m., King Street remained closed in both directions at North Dearing Street as crews worked to repair the water main. Motorists should avoid the area.

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