FORT KENT – In this town, it’s possible to go from preschool through a college degree and never travel more than a half-mile.

But because the Fort Kent Elementary School, Fort Kent Community High School and the University of Maine at Fort Kent all occupy a strip of land between Pleasant Street and the Fish River, when the waters rise all students are affected.

The flooding of the Fish River this week forced cancellation of all classes in SAD 27 and the university through Friday and left administrators scrambling to bring schedules back into line.

“This is a first for me,” SAD 27 Superintendent Patrick O’Neill said Friday afternoon. “And I’m [a U.S.] Coast Guard veteran, so I’ve seen plenty of water.”

Even though only the high school and elementary school were directly affected by the floodwaters, district elementary schools in Wallagrass, Eagle Lake and St. Francis also were closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

At issue were lack of electrical power and access to facilities in areas where heavy rains and rising rivers washed out roads.

The three flood days came on top of three snow days already accrued in the snowy winter, and as it now stands, SAD 27 students will be in classes through June 19.

However, O’Neill has applied to the state Department of Education for a special waiver to excuse the district from the days lost during the flood emergency.

“Right now they are considering that waiver,” he said. “We are hoping to be back in class on Monday.”

As of Friday, four large pumps were working at full capacity to remove water from the high school’s basement, and the athletic fields were completely under water.

At the district office on East Main Street, 3 feet of water in the cellar damaged paperwork and a basement apartment.

“We are going to assess everything once the water goes down,” O’Neill said. “This weekend our transportation director will drive the bus routes to check they are safe and look for alternate routes, if needed.”

Students at UMFK were down to just seven days before the end of the semester when things came to a sudden halt Wednesday.

Water from the Fish River crept over the parking lots and driveway into the basement of Cyr Hall and Fox Auditorium.

With an eye toward safety, officials made the call to shut off electricity on the campus, and the final two days of classes were canceled.

At the same time, officials decided to evacuate the residence halls after town officials requested everyone on the municipal sewer system conserve as much as possible.

“The students were evacuated to lessen the demand on the town’s system,” John Murphy, UMFK vice president of administration and finance, said Friday afternoon. “Once we heard the sewage system was down, we knew if we could get that segment of the [student] population relocated, it would reduce that load.”

SAD 27 buses took about 70 UMFK students to temporary housing at UMaine Presque Isle and Northern Maine Community College where they were able to participate in traditional end of the year celebrations on those campuses.

“We hear our students are being treated like royalty,” Murphy said.

When the students return on Monday, they face two make-up days and a condensed final exam schedule.

While most staff remained on administrative leave and the campus closed on Friday, the university library was open for students needing computer access.

The international bridge linking Fort Kent and Clair, New Brunswick, remains closed until further notice. Students living in Clair are asked to enter the state at the Madawaska border crossing, or arrangements may be made to stay in Fort Kent through the end of the semester.

Information on the make-up dates and amended final exam schedule is available at www.umfk.maine/edu/flood.cfm.