NEW SHARON — Regional School Unit 9’s Cape Cod Hill School (CCHS) closed midday Monday, March 14, due to heating issues.

Superintendent Chris Elkington sent a message to CCHS families that students were dismissed at 11:45 a.m. due to issues with the circulator pump in the water boiler.

As a result of the boiler issues, classrooms were only able to heat to 55-56 degrees Fahrenheit, Elkington wrote.

School administration was hoping to have the issue fixed with a replacement pump by 9:30-10 a.m., and had students wearing jackets for the time being. However, the heat couldn’t be properly restored until the early afternoon due to a series of issues (another part replacement needed, the wrong size part, etc.).

Elkington said this change in time was “not acceptable” for children to be in school at those temperatures.

“Please accept my apologies for having to send your children home today, but it couldn’t be helped,” Elkington wrote.

This is not the first time RSU 9 has dealt with heating issues at its schools in the 2021-22 school year.

Elkington wrote that the district has “had multiple issues with the heat at CCHS.”

Mt. Blue Middle School also dismissed students early Jan. 31 because the school unexpectedly ran out of oil. Elkington said administration was setting policies in place to ensure the same issue would not happen again.

Elkington said administration is planning to replace the boiler for the 2022-23 school year because “it is very old and obviously in need of replacement.” However, when depends on how soon they can acquire one. Elkington wrote it will likely be six months from now.