It's Official: Naugatuck Schools Will Dismiss Early on Thursday

Naugatuck public schools will dismiss early on Thursday after all.

Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson said late Wednesday that school officials have reversed an earlier decision to keep school for an entire school day. Instead, all of Naugatuck’s 11 public schools will close by 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 9, due to the possibility of excessive heat.

“We got some high temperatures in some of the classrooms today (and) it’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow,” the superintendent said.

The schools will follow the regular half-day dismissal schedule: Naugatuck High School will dismiss at 11:30 p.m., City Hill Middle School at noon, the two intermediate schools at 12:30 p.m. and all of the elementary schools at 1 p.m.

Naugatuck schools were open for a full day Wednesday, while students attended classes in heat and humidity. School officials met for a few hours during the afternoon and decided to keep school open for a full day on Thursday, despite the National Weather Service report that temperatures could possibly hit a high of 93 degrees.

Around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Tindall-Gibson announced the change.

When explaining the reasoning, Tindall-Gibson noted that very few of the classrooms are air conditioned in the Naugatuck schools. While school officials tried to alleviate the matter with fans, temperatures still reached 80 degrees, he noted.

Most of the schools — such as Naugatuck High School, Salem School, Hillside Intermediate School and Hop Brook School — all have second stories, where temperatures also hit the 80s Wednesday, the superintendent said.

A number of parents called into the central Board of Education building  concerned about the heat, he said.

“At this point, we’re just dismissing early tomorrow and tomorrow’ we’ll make a decision on Friday,” Tindall-Gibson said. He said it could cool off Friday, allowing for school to resume at full length, but that remains to be seen.