A cyber network outage has forced the closure of a Southeast Michigan school district for three days already this week.
“An investigation is currently ongoing,” South Lyon Superintendent Steven Archibald said on a report about the incident during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
School officials noticed a network outage resulting in disruptions to day-to-day operations Sunday night, and sent a notice to families that the district would be closed Monday. The additional school closing decisions were made on a day-to-day basis.
Archibald said the district’s information technology staff has been working with consultants to bring the systems back into operation. The services that were affected include security cameras and the phone system, and as a result no one can call in or call out on the school phone lines.
While there are some workarounds and contingency plans allowing staff to handle some tasks, the lack of phone service would be a concern in case of an emergency, he said.
An expert that CBS Detroit spoke to said it’s better for schools to err on the side of caution in such situations.