Fayette superintendent explains why he didn’t shut down schools due to Hurricane Helene
As the remnants of Hurricane Helene bore down on Central Kentucky Friday, wind gusts reached 50 to 60 mph, and residents statewide reported downed trees and power outages. Many schools shut down, or like state and city governments, opted for early dismissal.
Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington was the exception, only canceling after school activities. That decision prompted online criticism from families, some of whom said their children were sitting at school in the dark.
Just after 6:30 p.m. Friday, Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins sent families a message explaining why he kept schools open. "The decision to close school is never an easy one," Liggins said.
"With more than 42,000 students and 9,000 employees in our district, it impacts the entire community when we change our school schedule. We have heard loud and clear from our families that they want us to maximize the time our students have in the classroom," Liggins said.
Liggins said he carefully weighed the potentially negative impacts of closing against the possible downsides of remaining open.
"In the case of today's decision, we anticipated issues such as downed tree limbs, intermittent power outages, and delays in bus routes. As expected, many of these occurred, but our established systems and our dedicated Operations and Support teams ensured that any school or program needing additional assistance received it promptly and efficiently," he said.
Liggins said some families chose to keep their children home from school, but others were depending on schools to stay open while they went to work. Students who needed it were also able to take food home to eat during fall break, which is next week, he said. School resumes Oct. 7.
On Friday, Liggins said "principals across the district have reported that our teachers kept the focus on student learning, bus drivers safely delivered students to and from school, child nutrition workers provided meals, and our support staff kept everything running smoothly."
"Thank you to all of the building custodians for the extra mopping, to the staff working in the wind and rain to make the car rider line go smoothly, and everyone else who went above and beyond today," Liggins said.
