Schools still closed, funds sought
Nine districts have yet to reopen; state superintendents aim to raise $100,000
Nine Florida school districts remain closed a week after Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Panhandle — and seven can’t yet set a date for when campuses will reopen, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Bay County — where Michael came ashore as a powerful Category 4 storm — said it is working to reopen schools. But some of its campuses are still being used as emergency shelters and others, the school district’s Facebook page said, “have suffered so much damage it is not feasible to open them at this time.”
The Florida Association of District School Superintendents on Saturday began a drive to raise money for schools in Bay and other hard-hit counties. It hopes to raise $100,000 to “help the students, teachers, employees, district staff and their communities begin the rebuilding process,” according to its GoFundMe page. The association represents Florida’s 67 school superintendents.
“Public school employees helping public school employees,” wrote one donor on the GoFundMe page.
The education department does not yet know how many school buildings were damaged by the storm or the expected costs of repairs and rebuilding because districts are still assessing their facilities. But it “will be significant – perhaps historic, like the storm itself,” Cheryl Etters, a spokes-
man, said in an email.
The storm destroyed homes and businesses, blocked roads and knocked out power. A week later many in the region are still without electricity and relying on donations of food and water to get by, the Panama
City New Herald reported. The education department said nine districts are “closed until further notice” and two others are closed but have set re-opening dates, one on Friday and one on Nov. 5. Florida State University’s Panama City campus is also “closed until further notice.”
In Bay, district administrators, despite limited access to the internet, are using social media to get messages to county families, telling them that when they re-open all campuses won’t be ready for students. “Not all schools will be able to re-open in the near future; however, ALL STUDENTS will be able to attend school. We are currently formulating plans for shared campuses for those students whose facilities are currently unusable,” read a message posted Tuesday on Facebook.
Schools in Charlotte County, in southwest Florida, used a similar strategy after Hurricane Charley blasted through in August, 2004, badly damaging about half that county’s campuses.