Officials: Public schools, colleges to remain closed

Central Florida’s public schools will remain closed Wednesday in the wake of Hurricane Irma, as some campuses still are without power and workers still are fixing damaged roofs and removing tree debris from campuses.

Meanwhile, the University of Central Florida announced that it will not open again until Monday.

Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia county schools all will be closed Wednesday. They all have been shuttered since last Thursday night, when Gov. Rick Scott closed all of Florida’s public schools as the storm churned toward the state.

Orange schools will be closed Thursday this week as well. Seminole and Polk schools will be closed Thursday and Friday, reopening for students Monday.

Other districts have not yet announced plans beyond Wednesday’s closures.

Nearly 70 Orange schools were still without power Tuesday afternoon. Once power is restored, it can take hours more to get computer and phone service up and running, so administrators decided they could not open for the next two days, said Scott Howat, the district’s chief spokesman.

The district — the region’s largest — suffered no catastrophic damage to its more than 200 campuses.

But a light pole damaged a portable classroom at West Orange High School, bleachers were crushed at Apopka High School, a canopy collapsed at Bridgewater Middle School and a greenhouse was destroyed at Timber Creek High School, said Lauren Roth, a spokesman for the district’s facilities department.

Tree debris also fell in parking lots and across school driveways. Some roofs leaked in individual classrooms.

As is true in districts across the state, facilities workers need to inspect all campuses before welcoming students back. “Really that’s the bottom line — student safety,” Howat said.

Other districts also said power, phone and Internet outages are mostly what are keeping schools closed, though building damage is an issue, too.

Umatilla Elementary School in Lake, for example, has “significant roof damage” as well as lots of debris blocking the area where cars line up to drop off and pick up students, said Sherri Owens, the Lake school spokesman.

At Clermont Middle School, an agricultural building was destroyed and the air conditioning system was damaged, she added.

In Volusia, 45 percent of schools were without power Tuesday afternoon, though schools were coming on line by the hour, said spokesman Nancy Wait.

George Marks Elementary School in DeLand had significant roof damage in one building, she said, while four other campuses had more minor roof leaks.

Scott ordered all school districts to shut down last Friday, and again Monday. But at least 47 of 67 Florida school districts have closed more days because of the powerful hurricane that struck the state Sunday and Monday, according to the Florida Department of Education.

At UCF, meanwhile, officials said the school would stay closed because parents and students were concerned traffic and limited flights would make it difficult for them to return to campus this week. But some protested the decision on social media, saying they didn’t have enough time to return to Orlando.

For Shawn Lord and her daughter, Kemi Gottschalk, even Monday is too soon.

“We’re supposed to be sending our kids back when there’s no food, no gas,” Lord said. “It’s outrageous.”

Gottschalk, 21, needs to return to Orlando from her family’s home in Fort Walton Beach. She left her off-campus apartment Wednesday, and said the trip took her 12 hours, including two hours she spent looking for gas in Gainesville.

Seminole State College also announced Tuesday that the campus will remain closed Wednesday, and other Orlando-area colleges say they won’t resume class for several days.

At Valencia College, classes are canceled through the end of Thursday. Classes at Rollins College in Winter Park won’t resume until Monday as well.