Water issue causes early dismissal and repairs
On March 23 at approximately 9:23 a.m., a grounds cart drove over a metal plate covering the vault that houses the main water line to Ventura High School. The plate was moved and fell into the vault edge first, breaking the plastic pipe that connected the water line to the fire hydrant on the senior lawn. The district facilities department was called immediately.
As a result, there was physical damage to the area outside of the health office and the water service was shut off during repair. This resulted in all bathrooms except those in the Larabee Stadium being unusable. Under California Education Code 35292.5, all schools must have fully operational restrooms and “shall keep a sufficient number of restrooms open during school hours when pupils are in classes” and according to the California Department of Education, schools must have one lavatory for every 40 students.
Because the VHS campus could not fulfill this, students were dismissed early at 12:10 p.m. with bagged lunches provided in the cafeteria. Special education buses would arrive at 12:15 p.m. to pick up students in the extended support needs program and general education buses would continue as normal and arrive at 4:00 p.m. Students who remain on campus would be supervised by staff and have access to the functional bathrooms near the stadium. Athletic practices would continue as normal unless told otherwise by coaches. Families were notified of this via ParentSquare at 11:17 a.m. The message said that an update would be provided by 9:00 p.m. regarding school operations the next day.
Teacher attendance for March 23 was taken for periods one and three while periods five and seven were excused by the admin staff. Staff were still required to stay on campus to work their contractual scheduled day.
Anastasia Dominguez ‘26 said, “I went to track and field practice after the water pipe exploded, I tried to get water from the fountain by the track and the water came out yellow. It smelled like feces, it was gross.”
According to principal Marissa Rodriguez, at approximately 4:30 p.m., temporary repairs were finished to continue school operations. Later at 5:20 p.m, families received a message on ParentSquare that said all school operations would resume normally March 24. Further repairs, which required the water service to be shut off, were made during spring break due to the duration of the repairs.
Rodriguez said, “This type of water main break has not happened in my 5 years at VHS.”
During spring break, repairs were made on the permanent connection between the water supply and the fire hydrant. Repairs were completed during spring break and no follow-up work will be done.
