Phone Glitch Panics Parents in Nevis District

NEVIS  (AP) - A phone system glitch made for a lot of panicky parents in a small northern Minnesota school district.

Normally the Nevis district expects about seven absences a day. But 520 were reported Tuesday morning.

The automated message from the attendance office told parents their children were not at school.

More than 100 parents filled up the school's phone lines for hours, wondering what happened.

Superintendent Steve Rassier explains the instant alert message was supposed to go out to only two families whose students' absences had not been verified. Instead, it went out to everyone.

The glitch was fixed and a second call was sent to parents to disregard the first call. But that didn't stop more calls and visits from parents.

The system worked fine Wednesday.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)