ORLANDO, Fla. – After Hurricane Helene made its way up Florida’s west coast late Thursday night and into Friday morning, Brevard, Orange, Seminole, Lake and Volusia school districts all opened Friday, but with backlash from parents.
“Not everyone has power, water, and a clear direction immediately after a storm. Do better next time! Make it make sense,” wrote one parent on Lake County School’s Facebook page.
Some Orange County parents were amped up too.
“This is ridiculous! OCPS the wind is so strong and we keep hearing debris hitting the house and loud thuds. Not only are you risking safety of the children but the bus drivers and teachers as well,” another parent wrote.
News 6 reached out to all of the districts about the decision to open.
“We are not seeing any sustained winds consistent with tropical storm levels,” Volusia County posted on its Facebook page.
“Our decision to close or open schools is done in collaboration with the Lake County Emergency Management Team which monitors the storm and advises us based on the forecast,” a spokesperson for the district told News 6 in an email.
The biggest factor in determining whether schools will be open is wind speeds.
Most districts have told us that school buses can not operate safely with sustained winds above 35 miles per hour.
“The national weather service models showed that wind speeds would be significantly below our 35 mph threshold for buses to be on the road,” a spokesperson from Orange County Public Schools told News 6 when asked about the decision.
Parents don’t have to be upset because ultimately the decision is up to them, since most districts treat the day as an excused absence.
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