The downpour that flooded suburban streets, streams and subdivisions in metro Atlanta also shut down hundreds of schools.
Students at Atlanta, Cobb, Carroll, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Marietta and Paulding schools will be stuck elsewhere on Tuesday as campuses shut down because of hazardous road conditions. Douglas students also will get Wednesday off as the district deals with its sewer problems.
Karen Stroud, spokeswoman for the Douglas district, said damage to water mains made it impossible for students and staff to flush school toilets or wash their hands.
“During this time of year, we’re particularly concerned about the flu and the necessity of frequent handwashing,” she said.
A boil water advisory and inadequate water pressure make that nearly impossible, she said.
Douglas County schools are closed to students on Tuesday and Wednesday. Twelve-month employees will report to work as usual or take leave with supervisory permission.
Douglas County schools saw the worst of Monday’s water misery as most of metro Atlanta schools remained in session with little to no interruptions.
Gwinnett County was an exception, with students given the day off Monday.
“We have gone ahead and made a decision to close schools looking at the weather forecast,” Sloan Roach, spokeswoman for Gwinnett Schools, said early Monday evening. “It doesn’t appear tomorrow is going to be much better. We certainly don’t want to take any risks.”
Rising water crept into the front doors of Mountain Park and Susan Stripling elementary schools because of blocked storm drains. Gwinnett school officials said other campuses were not impacted. Classes were called off shortly before 8 a.m. because road closures near some schools limited access.
“The roads we would have used to go around those road closures were jammed as other people were trying to get around as well,”Roach said.
No DeKalb County Schools closed but students at two of its schools were rerouted to different campuses for the day because flooding made streets dangerous.
At Montclair Elementary School, 700 students, most of whom ride the bus, were sent to Cross Keys High School while 990 students at Freedom Middle School were sent to Clarkston High School.
Elsewhere across metro Atlanta, it was business as usual, officials said.
“We seem to be OK for now but we’re monitoring the weather like everybody else,” said Keith Bromery, spokesman for the Atlanta Public schools.
Districts advised parents to check school Web sites and local news sites and stations for updates throughout the week.
DeKalb district spokesman Dale Davis said practically every one of the district’s schools has an alternate site in the event it has to shut down.
No weather related issues were reported in the Fulton County district, according to spokeswoman Susan Hale.
“As of right now we’ve had no changes to our current school day and no reports of flooding or water damage,” she said Monday afternoon.
Both Cobb County and Marietta City Schools canceled all after hours extra-curricular activities. Marietta schools dismissed at regularly scheduled times, but parents were notified that they could pick up their kids earlier if they wished.
After-care was provided, but parents were asked to pick their children up early if possible.
“We expect delays,” Thomas Algarin, Marietta school spokesman, said of afternoon traffic. The district cut back programs following Cobb County’s response. “We did what we had to do.”
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