Superintendent Karen Barber said Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education directed all Panhandle school districts affected by the storm to reopen Oct. 14. Oct. 12 was a teacher planning day, and Oct. 13 will be spent getting campuses ready, she said at an Oct. 12 briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Milton.
“They’re going to be safe; they just may not be perfect,” Barber said of the district’s 36 campuses.
Any school not safe to open Wednesday will be announced Oct. 13, Barber said. The district said that decision will be made on an individual basis.
Milton High took some of the worst damage with the gym, but the main campus and classrooms are intact. Milton Mayor Heather Lindsay said at the briefing that the storm devastated the school and the neighborhood around it.
Jay Elementary and High School received “significant water intrusion,” with the district evaluating which spaces were safe for students. A multipurpose room at Hobbs Middle School also received damage.
DeSantis, speaking Oct. 11 in East Milton, said some Santa Rosa County schools were damaged and would be checked before students return, but said if schools were unsafe, students would not return.
Barber said transportation is one of the district’s biggest concerns. The district carries about 16,000 students, and debris piled along streets could keep buses off regular routes, she said.
Buses will stop at major intersections until debris is cleared, and alternate routes will be posted on the MyRideK12 app, Barber said. She asked parents who send children on the bus to supervise them from the front door until they board.
“They may have to walk past piles of debris,” she said.
Students may be served meals ready to eat on Wednesday, with regular meal service expected by Oct. 15, she said. Parents may send food from home.
The district employs 3,700 employees and is dealing with its own damage, she said. The district plans to connect employees with resources.
District maintenance crews were at all 36 schools Saturday morning.
