The lights have finally been fixed at Minnechaug, and they no longer remain burning throughout the night. The repair took place over February break and the company was able to completely fix the issue. 

The renovated system includes a manual override of the lighting, which allows the lights to be shut off regardless of the system status. This will help to ensure that a problem like this won’t happen again. 

Most students at Minnechaug have never had classes in the building when the lights were fully functional, as the system had been down since August of 2021. The lighting works on two different levels depending on the room. One option is motion sensors that will turn on the lights when someone enters, such as the locker rooms. The other uses ambient lighting and automatically dims the lights due to how much natural light is available in order to conserve energy.

“Given [the dimming] will be a response to either more or less natural light, [the students] may not even notice this if they aren’t aware it is happening,” explains Aaron Osborne, the  assistant superintendent of finance at the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District. 

There are also some lessons to be learned from this experience, including a few for students to take with them as they enter professional fields that may have to deal with contractors or the supply chain. Osborne offers some insight and helpful advice to those potential students. 

“I don’t know whether anyone raised the concern about a lack of an ‘off’ switch for the lighting system when the building was designed, but that might have been a cost effective change that could have saved a lot of pain,” Osborne said. “I would advise students to hope for the best, but plan for the worst, and listen to the naysayers.”