LAURINBURG — During the Committee of the Whole meeting on Sunday, the Board of Education decided to cancel classes for Scotland County Schools students for the rest of the week because so many roads were still impassable.
Included in those are the two roads leading to South Scotland Elementary.
“As we stand right now, I’m dealing with a heart and a head,” Superintendent Ron Hargrave said. “My heart says if we can get our children back in school we can begin to take care of them. We can begin to get them fed and begin to talk to them about what has happened.”
But Hargrave also said that, by looking at the conditions of the roads, the fact that it’s supposed to rain again and the potential of students being displaced he didn’t think that schools should open back up.
Hargrave originally suggested holding classes Monday through Wednesday and seeing how things looked then, but Vice-Chair Rick Singletary suggested canceling for the rest of the week and reaccess on Friday.
“I don’t think the people of our district will have a problem waiting until Thursday or Friday, so let’s just wait until Friday to make that call,” Singletary said.
This week will be teacher work days, but if the teachers are unable to make it to the schools they are to contact their supervisors.
Scotland High School took on the most damage of all of the schools, with the gym floor being destroyed by water damage as well as the auditorium stage. The locker rooms also suffered flooding and, due the water backing up through the sewage system, a small amount of sewage came out into the area. A team did come in and sanitize the whole area to make sure that it was completely taken care of.
“In terms of the other schools, there was some water that got in under the doorways and some of the windows,” Hargrave said. “Even at Laurel Hill in the new addition around some of the window sills, we’re working with the contractors to come back in and seal those.”
Due to damage at St. Andrews University, when school does start back SEarCH will be moved to the old North Laurinburg Elementary. The rooms are already being set up with internet restored to the building as well as tables and chairs being set up in the classrooms.
The schools will also continue hosting feeding sites and added two sites to the previous locations. The sites include I.Ellis Johnson Elementary, Sycamore Lane Elementary, Laurel Hill Elementary, Wagram Elementary, Spring Hill Middle School and Scotland High School.
The sites will serve breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and lunch from noon to 2 p.m. to all students who are under 18.