FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward School Board chair Lori Alhadeff announced that Broward County Public Schools will be preparing to reopen on Monday after a flooding emergency prompted schools to close on Thursday and Friday.
Alhadeff said the school district offices will also be closed on Friday and all events including before and after school activities, field trips, and evening classes are canceled on Friday.
“Regretfully we cannot fully assess all campuses, nor complete the necessary repairs at those we were able to assess,” Alhadeff said. “Additionally, many of our staff were unable to access school campuses due to heavy flooding.”
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School district staff teams were touring campuses on Thursday to assess the impact of Wednesday’s torrential rain, according to Keyla Concepción, a spokeswoman for BCPS.
“With that type of rain there could have been an extensive amount of damage to our roofs,” said Toni Barnes, the director of emergency management at BCPS.
Barnes said the schools of more concern were in the southeast area of the county, and as of about 3 p.m., on Thursday, the staff had visited over 100 of the district’s 236 schools.
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The area schools with the most damage were in Hollywood, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, and Oakland Park, according to BCPS officials.
An aerial view on Thursday afternoon from SKY 10, showed some of the athletic fields were still flooded at Attucks Middle School, at 3500 N 22 Ave., in Hollywood.
The basketball courts were underwater and there was flooding up to a door at Collins Elementary School, at 1050 NW 2 St., in Dania Beach. There were downed trees.
Related story: Broward declares state of emergency after unprecedented flooding
The football field at Olsen Middle School, at 330 SE 11 Terrace, in Dania Beach, was flooded and the water had yet to recede in some of the area’s roads.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools did not close schools on Thursday and will not close on Friday.
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