Habersham County students will get two more days of Fall Break due to the damage sustained by the county during Hurricane Delta.
Superintendent Matthew Cooper said Wednesday afternoon the decision was made for numerous reasons, the most important of which was safety.
“Our transportation department has been out all day checking on road conditions,” Cooper said. “Our transportation director has indicated to me that based on what he has found he does not feel safe running buses this week. Extending Fall Break for students through the rest of the week will allow our transportation department to continue assessing road issues, to adjust routes and create detours, and to communicate with families and drivers about trouble spots and changes.”
Cooper said the county road department is making significant progress on repairing affected roads. Roughly 60 roads in the county were impacted by floodwaters.
“Keeping our buses and student drivers off the roads will allow the county to keep making progress,” Cooper said. “I applaud our county road department for the progress they have already made under very difficult conditions.”
Cooper said Habersham County E-9-1-1/Emergency Management Agency Director Lynn Smith supports the decision to keep buses off county roads for the rest of the week.
“In addition to unsafe road conditions, our schools are also experiencing water issues,” Cooper said. “One school was without water today and two others so far are on a Boil Water Advisory for tomorrow. Not having schools open for students will also help with the current water challenges.”
Cooper said the decision to close was not made lightly but added it is in response to an unprecedented weather event.
“Transportation Director Tim Dockery indicated Habersham County has just experienced the worst flooding he has seen in his lifetime,” Cooper said. “The flooding has been devastating to our roadways. Our support and prayers are with those who continue to experience problems related to the flooding.”
Cooper said students should be able to get back to the books next week barring additional problems.
“We expect to be back in school on Monday, although bus service may still be limited in some areas,” Cooper said.
Cooper said he wanted to make the announcement as early as possible so parents could arrange childcare.
