LUMBERTON — After three weeks off, students in the Public Schools of Robeson County will return to class on Monday.
All Robeson public schools have been closed since Oct. 10 in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Several schools were flooded, while others suffered tree damage and served as emergency shelters for those who were displaced by the storm.
All students will resume class on Monday, although some will report to different locations.
Students at West Lumberton Elementary, the hardest hit by flooding, will go to Lumberton Junior High School, 82 Marion Road. Parents will receive direction from Principal Tara Bullard on drop-offs, pick-ups and transportation for students, according to the school system’s Facebook.
Students at W.H. Knuckles, which was also damaged by flooding, will attend class at that school. Students who would normally go to the kindergarten and first-grade wing, which was flooded, will go to the school’s main building. Lunches will be transported to the school because of flood-damage in the cafeteria.
All other students will go to their normal schools. All PSRC employees will return to work at 8 a.m. Thursday.
The return to school has been delayed as PSRC officials assessed damage to school facilities and to Robeson County roads. With 81 roads still affected by storm-related closures, bus routes and bus stops will be changed. According to the school system, principals will contact parents to let them know if their students’ stop or route will change. The PSRC Transportation Department is working on a bus route plan.
“Parents, if you have concerns about school transportation, please call your child’s school,” the Facebook post reads. “The first days of the re-routes may cause schedules to be off at bit, please be patient as our drivers work through the changes.”
Gov. Pat McCrory signed an executive order calling on legislators to give schools that were closed because of the storm some leeway on the state requirement that students be in school at least 185 days or 1,025 hours each year. The governor also requested that school boards not schedule makeup days until after legislators reconvene in January.
