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School in Ely will be closed on Tuesday due to cold weather and a problem with the district's heating system.
The district sent out the following message: "The Ely Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, January 21st, due to the severe cold temperatures and a mechanical issue with one of our boilers."
Temperatures in Ely plummeted to -33 on Monday morning. Students weren't in class on Monday due to a teacher workshop.
"Due to the temperatures and having an issue with one of our boilers, those two made for a bad combination so we decided it was better to be safe than sorry," said ISD 696 superintendent Anne Oelke. "We have the boiler fixed and running but it went out at 8:30 a.m. this morning and the guys were working on it all day. By the time they got it fixed at 2 o'clock, we were still trying to recoup the warmth back. And if it's 40 below tomorrow and the boiler was to go out we didn't want to get the kids here and not be able to get them home. Plus the (area) superintendents were already starting to talk about closing."
Oelke said teachers did have to work in conditions that weren't ideal on Monday.
"It did get chilly in certain parts of the building, I think 58 was the coldest but hopefully we'll be back to normal after Tuesday," said Oelke.
