With power outages lingering, Hillsborough schools stay closed
Hillsborough County students will remain out of school at least one more day.
Citing ongoing power outages at about 100 campuses, district officials announced they will not resume classes on Tuesday. They said they hope to reopen Wednesday.
“The power is the biggest issue now,” spokesperson Tanya Arja said, adding that the decision about Wednesday could change if too many schools continue to go without electricity.
Other factors complicating the district’s reopening include standing water in about a dozen schools, delayed deliveries of food for cafeterias and road hazards and traffic signal outages in several communities.
The school board also canceled its meeting that had been scheduled for Tuesday.
In preparation for their return, several students and parents went to their campuses Monday morning to help clean up the debris. All shelters operating in schools were closed over the weekend.
Arja said it was too soon to know how all the missed days will be made up, so students meet their state-required time for instruction per semester and also get enough instruction to be eligible for credits in Advanced Placement and similar courses.
“First we have to see how much time we’re out,” she said.
Within minutes of the district’s announcement, families began reacting on social media. The most prevalent response was frustration with the day-to-day updates, which several said made it harder for them to plan.
Several noted that they are dealing with crises at home, too, and suggested that the district just wait until next week to reopen.
“Give families time to get back to normal and start back next Monday fresh,” wrote Tiffany Avila, who works at Summerfield Elementary in hard-hit Riverview, echoing many other comments on Facebook.
With power outages lingering, Hillsborough schools stay closed