Leon schools scraps bus service, delays start time Monday; SAIL, Sabal Palm to remain closed

Industry,

Alaijah Brown

Tallahassee Democrat

All Leon County public schools will be open Monday except SAIL High School and Sabal Palm Elementary School, Leon Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna said on Facebook Live Sunday night.

Two tornadoes swept through Tallahassee early Friday, leaving the city in disbelief – and in the dark. Hanna said power has been restored at almost all schools, though there will be some changes in school day routines for students and parents.

“Tomorrow we're going to make some adjustments but we are going to have our schools open that have power and the capacity to accept students,” Hanna said.

He also said school buses will not operate because of road hazards such as downed trees and power lines. Student absences will be excused for hardships and all school start times will be delayed by 30 minutes. No students will be on the ACE, or Lively campus, including the Pre-K program, he added.

“Although my personal vehicle can navigate the roads, our buses are just not going to be able to pull it off. There's too many lines that are still down, trees that are leaning over there, and our buses can't clear,” Hanna said.

Despite the changes, dismissal times will be the same, before-school supervision will still be available and cafeteria meals will be served.

But Advanced Placement and Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) exams will be rescheduled because of internet instability. Hanna said all LCS staff should report to work as normal.

The 30-minute delay sets the elementary school start time back to 9 a.m., the middle school start time to 10 a.m., and the high school start time to 8 a.m., to give parents time to manage transportation for their students.