Miami-Dade Public Schools To Reopen On Monday; Broward Too
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Public Schools in Miami-Dade County will reopen on Monday following the impact of Hurricane Irma last weekend.
Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho made the announcement on Twitter.
Per Carvalho, all tardies and absences will be excused due to the continuing power outages throughout South Florida.
"Power has been restored to most of our schools but similar to what we're seeing in homes, there are some service interruptions," Carvalho said in a tweet.
The only school in Miami-Dade that will not be able to open is Richmond Heights Middle School. Students from Richmond Heights will be relocated to Coral Reef Senior High.
Carvalho acknowledged that some schools may not have air conditioning and that they would "try to make it as comfortable as possible for students and staff."
Parents are encouraged to walk their kids to school due to expected delays with buses due to power outages and accessibility issues.
On Saturday it was announced that Broward County schools would re-open on Monday as well.
School officials held a press conference to provide additional information to parents.
"We've seen the best of Broward when we're challenged," said Broward School Superintendent Robert Runcie. "We started out, we had 29 shelters provide mission-critical services to our community, serving over 13,000 individuals in those shelters."
Those schools that served as shelters have been thoroughly cleaned and inspected, to make room for students. Many schools were littered with debris and were without power.
The three schools that remained without power, or limited power, at the time of the announcement have had their power fully restored.
Also of note, kids in all Miami-Dade and Broward public schools will be provided with free breakfast and lunch.
All drivers are asked to be aware of school zones and watch for signage as blinking lights may not be functional due to power or damage from the storm.
