Beaufort County schools closed until at least Thursday

As of Monday afternoon, Beaufort County School District’s plan to re-open schools Wednesday after Hurricane Matthew was still in place, frustrating some parents, students and teachers.

Many took to social media to express their concerns.

Facebook user Mike Randye posted, “A lot of us, including us teachers, have no power and had to go far away from home” during the Hurricane Matthew evacuation.

Tracie Martucci posted that opening schools Wednesday “makes no sense.”

“A lot (of county residents) are still without power and some can't even get to their houses due to all the trees down,” she said.

Facebook user Teresa Little suggested the district “should just cancel this whole week and go back Monday.”

School leaders say they are aware that the plan is worrying some.

“We are getting some (concerns) from parents and staff members,” acknowledged district spokesman Jim Foster on Monday.

Foster said extending school closures beyond Wednesday is a possibility.

Students, parents and teachers will be notified two days in advance of any decision, he said. That means if schools were to reopen Thursday, notifications will be issued no later than Tuesday.

“Power is a key element” in the district’s decision as to when to re-open schools, Foster said.

“We are going to have power available for an extended period of time to get into schools and remedy an issues inside the schools,” he said.

Several schools were damaged during the storm with the worst occurring at Beaufort High School, H.E. McCracken Middle School and Hilton Head Island Elementary School.

The middle and high school and others had leaking roofs and some structure damage from fallen tree branches and debris, which still covered the campuses on Sunday afternoon. At Hilton Head Elementary, water was blown in under the doors and still sat in the corridors on Sunday.

Foster said crews were working Monday to fix the roof at Beaufort High.

Once that job is complete, they will begin focusing on repairs at H.E. McCracken Middle, he said.

The district will soon begin working on a plan for make-up school days after it has reopened schools.

Superintendent Jeff Moss said Sunday that he is hopeful the state will waive the district's requirement to make up all of the missed days — students have been out of class since last Wednesday.

Either way, the district is looking at excusing absences of students and providing time off to staff who do not return to the area before classes resume.

Meanwhile, local Catholic schools including St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in Bluffton, St. Francis Catholic School on Hilton Head Island, St. Peter’s Catholic School in Beaufort and John Paul II Catholic School in Ridgeland are set to re-open Oct. 17.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Beaufort County schools closed until at least Thursday."