Widespread data network outage cancels school, causes 7 schools to go offline

ROY, Utah — Seven schools in and near Roy are offline Wednesday morning after a network outage, causing those schools to be canceled for the day.

Lane Findlay with Weber School District said the network outage was caused when an on-site contractor accidentally caused damage to a CenturyLink fiber optics in Roy. 

“Late last evening, we were informed of significant damage to Lumen (CenturyLink) fiber optics at 5600 South 1900 West in Roy, resulting in a widespread outage affecting data networks, telecommunications, and internet services,” Findlay said. “The damaged fiber runs east to west across 1900 West, and AT&T fiber has also been impacted.”

Roy High, Sandridge Jr. High, Roy Jr. High, Freedom Elementary, Roy Elementary, Hooper Elementary, and Municipal Elementary are offline, according to Findlay.

“Due to the impact on telecommunications, internet access, and school security systems, we are prioritizing safety and canceling school today for the affected schools, which were already scheduled for an early-out day,” Findlay said. 

Findlay said it would take some time to get the schools up and running again once repairs are done.

This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available.