Schools Planning To Reopen Monday

Putnam County schools plan to reopen on Monday since being closed in the aftermath of Tuesday’s storms.

Putnam County Interim Director of Schools Corby King said he knows it will be difficult, but the school system is prepared.

“The plan for us is to return to school next Monday,” King said. “It will look different for some of the families that were impacted by the storm this week, and we’re going to talk through some of that. For the majority of our families, we’re going to try to return to whatever the new normal will be for them.”

King said that there is a plan in place to help get affected students to school.

“The transportation department is working with them,” King said. “We know that several of these students have been displaced and they are going to be in other locations. We’re going to do our best to pick them up if they are in other parts of the county. They may be staying with friends or in a hotel, but we’re going to try to get bus transportation to them and try to get them to their school.”

For students able to live in affected areas, their routine will be different.

“We’re probably going to have to have pickup points,” King said. “The transportation department is working on establishing those in neighborhoods where they can’t get a bus, but have pickup points to pickup and drop-off students that live in those areas.”

According to King, there are laws in place to ensure children displaced to other counties can still remain in their school, and said the district will work to ensure that happens.

King also said that teachers affected by the storm will be given extra time off. With only a week left before Spring Break, those teachers will be excused for those five days.

One potential challenge in getting children to school is the closure of Highway 70, but Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris says that should not be a problem.

“Highway 70 will remain closed most likely through the middle of next week,” Farris said. “Law enforcement will maintain a heavy presence in the area not only at checkpoints and roadblocks, but as well as side roads coming into that area.”

Farris went on to say that there are plenty of routes available for school buses to bypass the affected area.

-Benjamin Armstrong