Schools reopen after Hurricane Sally

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LOXLEY – Baldwin County school employees worked for days after Hurricane Sally to fix building damage, check roads for buses and get power back on all campuses, system officials said.

The fact that schools were able to reopen Wednesday was amazing, Superintendent Eddie Tyler told Board of Education members.

“It’s mind boggling, how they attacked all of these schools, central offices, got them back to where they’re operational,” Tyler said.

Food worth more than $122,000 had to be thrown out and coolers cleaned and restocked due to spoilage when the power failed after the storm hit on Sept. 16, Erin Miller, coordinator of Child Nutrition Services, said.

“Our vendors have been wonderful,” Miller said Thursday, Sept. 24. “They’ve worked with me and been able to deliver on days when they don’t normally, and we should have everything we need to before service on Wednesday. Everything that we need before the kids come in Wednesday morning.”

Tyler said school system employees worked through the weekend to make repairs and prepare schools for opening.

He said all schools would open, but some bus routes might be affected by closed roads.

“This is probably the one area where we're still crossing our fingers,” Tyler said. “There are some roads which are still completely blocked. We still have some areas in the county with washouts and dangerous conditions. The Lake Forest community on the Eastern Shore is still going to come in close to making sure those trees are removed so that our buses can fit through the roadways. Mr. Pollard and his team tell me they believe it's all going to come together but we're going to need every last hour over the next two days to make sure our kids are safe when we come to pick them up Wednesday morning.”

Tyler said state education officials have also stated that Baldwin County will not have to make up the days that school was closed as Sally approached the Gulf Coast and after the storm had hit. He said students and teachers will be off for fall break in October as scheduled.

“Fall break is on,” Tyler said. “Our employees, our parents have been dealing with a lot since last March need a fall break and I feel like we can make that happen.”