FLORENCE SCHOOL CLOSINGS: Some districts closed 'until further notice'

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Sunday, September 23, 2018

As historic floodwaters around the state begin to recede after Hurricane Florence, some schools are remaining closed indefinitely.

View a full list of school closings here

Cumberland County schools to operate on a 2-hour delay on Monday, September 24th.

Fayetteville State University will be closed until Monday, Sept. 24, 2018.

Clinton City Schools will be closed "until further notice."

Sampson County Schools will be closed "until further notice."

Last week, Wake County schools, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and Durham Public Schools were among the districts that closed on Thursday and Friday ahead of Hurricane Florence.

Currently, the projected make-up days are as follows:

Traditional Schools - Monday, October 22 & Wednesday, November 21

Year-Round Schools, Early College High Schools, & Cumberland Polytechnic High School - Tuesday, November 6 and Wednesday, November 21

STATEMENTS ABOUT MONDAY SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Durham Public Schools issued a statement after deciding to remain open Monday. In the morning there were tornado warnings in the area, including in Durham County.

"We had every indication that today would be a good day to open schools," the statement read in part. "When weather advisories were issued and conditions began to deteriorate, buses were already en route to school."

Student absences Monday will be excused, school officials say.

Orange County Schools will dismiss two hours early on Monday. Any student that missed school Monday will have an excused absence.

"When we make decisions to close or delay or open schools, safety is always our top priority," a statement read. "Though we lead with safety, we might not always get the decision correct. Today is one of those days. We tried to make a decision to keep schools open using the best information we had at the time. We got it wrong, and we apologize for that."

According to unofficial DPI data, 49 of North Carolina's 115 school districts were closed Monday, and another 23 were operating on a delay. For charter schools, 71 were closed Monday and six were operating on delay. At least 1.2 million of North Carolina's 1.5 million public school students have missed some school because of the storm.

"We are nowhere near the end of this storm or its devastation, but we have already begun responding when and how we can," said State Superintendent Mark Johnson. "Even as many schools in the state return to normal this week, others will be in varying conditions of response and restoration. Every one of our team members is doing what we can and will continue to help."