LAPORTE, Pa. -- A fire at Sullivan County high school earlier this week ended the school year early.
Because of smoke damage, students and teachers are not allowed back inside the buildings and that is causing district officials to rearrange events, including graduation.
The fire was early Wednesday morning inside the auditorium at Sullivan County High School. Because of air contamination throughout the buildings, school was canceled for the rest of the year. Graduation will go on as scheduled, but it has moved to another place.
The Sullivan County school complex in Laporte is home to more than 600 students, grades kindergarten through 12. An electrical fire inside the high school caused ventilation issues district-wide. Thanks to soot and smoke damage, the school year ended early.
The last day of school was supposed to be next Thursday. As crews work to clean the buildings, district officials decided to end the school year early.
Ending the school year early raises a lot of questions for students who have not yet taken their final exams.
"I'm worried for my grades, for the finals, if I have to take them because I like having As. I'm worried that I might drop since I haven't had time to study since all my stuff is at school," junior Cynthia Eberlan said.
High school graduation was scheduled to take place next Friday evening. It's still going to happen, just not at the high school. It will be held at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds."
"It's definitely not what I expected going out of senior year," said Mykenzie Malicusky. "It definitely was a shock to all of the seniors. But we're making the most of what we can, really."
Many of the younger students are excited about an early summer vacation.
A meeting has been scheduled for Monday between parents and district officials to discuss how the school year will be finalized.