School hopes lights can finally shut off after costly glitch

WILBRAHAM, Mass. (AP) — Officials are hoping a Massachusetts high school will be able to turn the lights off by the end of next month, about a year-and-a-half after a computer glitch turned the lights on to stay. The unusual challenge faced by Minnechaug Regional High School in the western Massachusetts town of Wilbraham is drawing national attention, with a mention during the Weekend Update segment of the Jan. 21 Saturday Night Live episode. In a November 2021 story, the school’s student newspaper, The Smoke Signal, reported there was no manual way to control the lights other than through a series of circuit breakers that shut off entire sections of the building.