LAURINBURG — On Saturday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced the closure of all public schools beginning on Monday for at least two weeks due to COVID-19, but one of the largest concerns about canceling schools is getting food to students.
Scotland County Schools announced on Sunday that there will be feeding sites for students across the county Monday to Friday until April 3.
From 8 to 9 a.m. breakfast will be served while lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m at Laurel Hill Elementary, Wagram Elementary, I. Ellis Johnson Elementary, South Scotland Elementary, Scotland High School, and Sycamore Lane Elementary. The meals will be grab-and-go style so students will pick up meals using the entrance tot he cafeteria and take the food home to eat since due to closures meals cannot be eaten at the feeding sites.
The district is also starting to deliver meals using school buses. The bus routes will be used and buses will stop at the regular stops for school personnel to give each school-aged child lunch as well as breakfast for the next day. The buses will be on the routes from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Teachers and staff are also spending the week with workdays to solidify plans for at-home student learning. The at-home learning will begin on March 23 and more details will be released soon for parents and students.
Along with the mandate of schools closing from the governor, the district has begun postponing events including the Employee Health Fair on March 25, Spring Arts Night on March 31, Battle of the Books on April 1, the Robotics Showcase on April 4 and the Scotland High School prom on April 4.
All events that involve the public that are held on school campuses will also be postponed until further notice.
The North Carolina Special Olympics has canceled all practices and games which means the local Special Olympics that was set for April 28 will be canceled.
Scotland Christian Academy has closed schools and gathering for the next two weeks as well though the pre-schools will still be open. Some teachers were able to send packets home on Friday before school was canceled while others will send out assignments through email or Google Classroom.
Marlboro Academy has closed school until April 6. The school will have assignments provided by teachers to complete online work during the time off.
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The city of Laurinburg
In response to the coronavirus, the city of Laurinburg has closed its offices to the public until further notice. City employees will continue to work as normal and all city services will continue to be provided to residents. For payments on utilities, the drive-thru window will still be available for residents to pay bills along with mail, dropbox, online or by calling 910-276-1521.
The police department will still be operational so those who need assistance are asked to call 910-276-3211.
The Tuesday night meeting of the Laurinburg City Council was canceled due to the offices being closed to the public.
Customers can still conduct business online at the Scotland County website or by calling the office at 910-277-2585.
Reach Katelin Gandee at [email protected]