Hurricane Ian causes closures for Volusia, Flagler public schools, colleges
Volusia County Schools will be closed Wednesday through Friday as a precaution against Hurricane Ian, according to announcements Monday and Tuesday evening.
Officials say the closures also extend to after-school activities, athletic events, extended day care, district trainings and meetings, tutoring and mentoring. District offices will also be closed.
On Monday morning, the district had already canceled after-school activities for Wednesday through Friday.
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On Tuesday evening at the school board's meeting, Superintendent Balgobin shared that classes would be canceled Friday as well. No decision has been made for school activities on Saturday and Sunday.
"It looks like Friday in the morning, there will still be some effects of the weather prevalent here in Volusia County that we'll be directly affected by the weather," she said, noting that staff will need ample time to disinfect buildings and return to campuses.
In a video announcement shared Monday night, Balgobin told families to stay safe and prepare for the storm.
“Our district is working closely with our local emergency management officials to monitor the approaching storm and its potential impact on Volusia County,” she said. “We will continue to provide you with updates of any impact of school operations this week through our regular channels of communications as well as on Volusia County Schools social media pages and Twitter and Facebook.”
The district has nearly 66,000 students across almost 90 schools.
Individuals can also text “Yes” to 67587 to receive text updates from VCS before, during and after the storm.
More information can be found at the districts Storm Resource Center webpage at https://www.vcsedu.org/community/storm-resource-center.
Balgobin also announced during a press conference on Tuesday that four schools will be open as shelters as early as Wednesday. Mainland High School in Daytona Beach and DeLand High School will serve the general population and pets. Atlantic High School in Port Orange and Galaxy Middle School in Deltona will be open for residents with special needs.
Flagler Schools also plan closures
Flagler Schools announced Tuesday morning that all schools will be closed from Wednesday through Friday "due to the impending effects of Hurricane Ian."
This includes classes, after-school activities, sporting events and other extracurricular activities. The hurricane will also push back SAT testing at Matanzas High School from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15.
“This is not a decision we take lightly, but we want to give our families enough time to prepare their homes for this storm or evacuate the area if they feel that is the best option for them,” Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt stated in a press release. ”We also need to use this time to prepare the emergency shelter space our campuses offer, should people be asked to evacuate.”
Rymfire Elementary in Palm Coast is being prepared as a special needs shelter, and Bunnell Elementary will be a shelter for the general population and pets. Both are expected to open Wednesday.
Multiple local colleges announce closures
Many local colleges and universities have altered schedules too. Daytona State College has canceled all classes and activities on all campuses for Wednesday through Friday and plans to reopen Monday.
Stetson University in DeLand has canceled in-person classes Wednesday through Friday.
Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach issued a mandatory evacuation starting Monday and moved all classes online starting Tuesday.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has also canceled classes Wednesday through Friday.
Keiser University's Daytona Beach campus is closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia and Flagler schools, colleges to close for Hurricane Ian
