“Beyond repair”: Florida district shares first photos of storm-battered schools

More than a dozen schools suffered major damage in the School District of Lee County. Officials are still unsure when classes will resume.

A few schools “may be beyond repair” in the battered School District of Lee County, which has just shared the first photos of Hurricane Ian’s ugly aftermath.

Another 14% of the schools in the southwest Florida district suffered major damage when the region took a direct hit from Category 4 Hurricane Ian’s record storm surges and devastating winds last week. The photos posted to Facebook Monday night provided the first images of Fort Myers Beach Elementary, The Sanibel School and Pine Island Elementary, which are among the hardest-hit communities in the state.

A bit of good news is that just over half of the School District of Lee County’s schools “are in low need of repair,” the district said in its Facebook post, adding that it intends to reopen as soon as possible.

Leaders in several neighboring districts were also unsure as of Tuesday morning about when their schools would reopen, “There will be no school until further notice,” says the alert on Charlotte County Public Schools website. The hurricane “caused a tremendous amount of damage,” the extent of which is still being assessed, Superintendent Stephen Dionisio wrote in a message to the community.

Three other southwest Florida districts—Sarasota County Public Schools, Hardee County Schools and The School District of DeSoto County—are also closed until further notice. But three others in the region—The Hendry County School District, The School District of Manatee County and The School District of Osceola County—reopened on Tuesday.

And Collier County Public Schools, which covers Naples, expects to reopen on Thursday, after a scheduled holiday on Wednesday. “The arduous process of rebuilding from a Category 4 hurricane will take considerable time,” the district notes on its website. “That being said, we understand the importance of continuity of learning for students and the role of schools in supporting our community’s recovery effort.”

The hurricane forced almost all of the districts in Florida to shut down for most of last week, from Miami to Tallahassee. Many reopened on Monday. In central Florida, Orange County Public Schools, which covers Orlando and is one of the nation’s largest districts, was set to reopen Tuesday. And Volusia County Schools, on the state’s east coast, is planning to reopen on Wednesday.

All of the photos below are from the School District of Lee County.


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Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.

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