School district, SJR State cancel classes as hurricane nears

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  • Browning-Pearce Elementary School
    Browning-Pearce Elementary School
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With Putnam County schools already closed through Wednesday due to Hurricane Dorian, Superintendent Rick Surrency said it’s too early to determine when they will reopen.

The school district has two built-in makeup days for hurricanes on its 2019-2020 calendar.

“It’s too early (to decide), and what we normally do is do it on a day-by-day basis,” Surrency said Monday at the Putnam County Emergency Operations Center. “Once the storm gets through, a lot of it is dependent upon the need for the shelters to stay open.

“As long as we have shelters open, it’s real difficult to start school again.”

Six of the schools in the district were opened as shelters Monday afternoon as portions of the county were placed under a mandatory evacuation order.

“We will need a little more time to clean up and rearrange the classrooms,” said Surrency.

Surrency also said nonessential school personnel and district employees were not to report to work. He said the safety of students and employees is a top priority for the district, while also providing shelters for residents.

“Obviously, it’s outside our normal jobs of educating students,” Surrency said regarding the use of schools as shelters. “But we’re here to care about our citizens and help keep people safe.

“We want to be a valuable partner with all the other agencies. We welcome the opportunity to serve our citizens and keep them safe.”

St. Johns River State College is also closed for the duration of the week. 

College officials said they would meet Saturday to assess when to resume classes.