Morris Community High School closes for flooding, expected to open Wednesday

Students at Morris Community High School returning to school after the long holiday weekend got some unexpected time off. On Tuesday, all students were dismissed before noon, when heavy rains flooded the school's cafeteria.

"There were at least a few inches of water in some parts of our cafeteria, which is in the basement of our building," said MCHS District 101 Superintendent Dr. Craig Ortiz, who said he was notified of the flooding around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. "It was coming from the back parking lot area, where it was reportedly coming up through the sewer and halfway up the tires on some vehicles. We have two service stairwells in the back lot, and the rain was coming down so heavily in such a short span of time that it had nowhere else to go."

Ortiz said that with lunch periods beginning at 11:20 a.m., it was impossible to get the students into the cafeteria.

"Being unable to serve lunch and with the possibility of more rain, we made the very quick decision to send everyone home and get the area cleaned up," Ortiz said. "We regret the inconvenience to families, and we plan to be open on Wednesday."

The district was able to bus students back home on their regular routes. Parents were notified of the closure and alerts were also put out on social media.