Bay Area school districts brace for widespread power shut-offs
Schools across the Bay Area are bracing for a possible power outage, with many district officials warning classes will be canceled during the power outage announced by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. onTuesday.
U.C. Berkeley said Tuesday evening that it would cancel classes Wednesday because the core of its campus will be without power. Mills College decided to suspend classes on Wednesday and Thursday.
Throughout the region, officials in different K-12 districts also warned of possible closures.
Berkeley Unified
School officials said they expect all schools to be open Wednesday. They said power shut-offs could affect several schools, however, and they plan to update members of the school community if any schools will be closed or schedules modified.
Castro Valley Unified
As of Tuesday morning, officials said schools that could lose power included: Jensen Ranch, Palomares and Proctor elementary schools and Canyon Middle School. They plan to provide updates as they learn more.
Fremont Unified
Officials said Tuesday that Niles Elementary and Vallejo Mill Elementary were the only schools that could possibly be affected, but no closures were planned yet.
Hayward Unified
School officials said only Stonebrae Elementary may be affected, but all schools are expected to be open on Wednesday. They warned parents that conditions can change quickly, but they will try to keep people updated.
Napa Valley Unified
School officials confirmed they will close schools Wednesday and Thursday based on what they said was imminent confirmation from PG&E of an outage for their area.
Piedmont Unified
Piedmont Unified, which is in the potential shut-off zone, will close all schools in the event of an outage. The outage would affect all students and staff and any before- or after-school activities on PUSD campuses.
Other districts, however, planned to keep schools open even if the lights are out.
Oakland Unified
Oakland Unified urged parents Tuesday to be prepared for closures at one school in the district, based on the most recent information from PG&E, said district spokesman John Sasaki.
Orinda Union
At Orinda Union School District, officials said they are monitoring the situation, but planned for school to be in session no matter what. Teachers had been briefed on the possibility and were prepared for dim classrooms and no computers, officials said.
In Lafayette, Acalanes Union High School District Superintendent John Nickerson advised parents that closures were possible, although they hoped to keep schools open even if PG&E shuts off power.
San Leandro Unified
The district sent an email Tuesday afternoon notifying families that all schools would be closed, even those that won’t experience the power outage. “Safety concerns for students who would be traveling to unaffected schools through areas of San Leandro which may be out of power has dictated closure of all SLUSD schools,” the district said.
Santa Rosa City Schools
As of Monday afternoon, school officials said these schools were on shut-off alert: Maria Carrillo High, Rincon Valley Middle, Santa Rosa Middle, Hidden Valley Elementary, Proctor Terrace Elementary, Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School and Lewis Education Center.
School officials said classes will continue until the end of the day if power is shut off in the middle of Wednesday. If power is shut off before classes start, affected schools will be closed for the day. Officials said they will contact parents with updates and post information on the district website.