On Sunday, the Aztec Municipal School District announced via Facebook that schools would be closed Monday, Feb. 24, because of a network outage.
According to the Facebook post, the district would work diligently to resolve the issue as soon as possible; however, schools would remain closed that Tuesday.
Tuesday, a post mentioned the network outage affected certain safety protocols including door security and student monitoring.
Parent-teacher conferences were canceled, but athletics continued as scheduled, according to the district.
By Wednesday, the district would transition to home learning, requiring parents to pick up paper based packets and meal kits.
Completion of the at home-learning packets would count as attendance for the week, according to the Facebook page.
The decision to transition was a collaboration with the New Mexico Public Education Department, which requires 1,140 instructional hours.
“Our goal is to avoid the need to extend the school year,” the district said.
In actively working with NMPED, the district said the at-home packets were the most reliable and effective method to track student participation.
“We understand that this unexpected closure may cause inconvenience, and we appreciate your patience and support as we address the situation,” the district said in the Facebook post. “Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our students and staff, and we are committed to keeping you updated every step of the way.”
According to a district spokesperson, upon the discovery of the network disruption the district engaged in a third-party information technology firm to conduct a thorough investigation.
“While the investigation is ongoing, Aztec Municipal School District is working to minimize any potential impacts,” the spokesperson said. “Our primary focus remains on a safe and efficient remediation process and the protection of the data we maintain.”
There is no evidence of any compromised sensitive or personal information, according to the spokesperson.
“At this time, we are experiencing a complete network outage, which has severely limited our access to email and other online tools,” the district said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
Tri-City Record will update this story as additional information becomes available. information.
