Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I am writing to provide an update on our recovery efforts and our decision regarding the remainder of the school week. While we have made progress in some areas, significant safety and mechanical challenges remain. As a result, all schools will remain closed for the remainder of this week (Thursday and Friday).
While power has been restored to all district buildings, we are discovering several weather-related obstacles:
Heating Systems: Some classrooms are currently without heat due to storm damage to our HVAC systems. Now that power is stable, our maintenance teams are working to address these repairs.
Transportation Hurdles: Many of our buses are currently iced over and/or frozen in place. The extreme cold has frozen emergency exit doors and windows shut. To avoid damaging the safety gaskets, we are bringing buses into the garage one at a time to thaw—a slow but necessary process to ensure every vehicle is safe for student transport.
Roads: Many roads within our enrollment boundary remain impassable or unsafe due to hanging wires and fallen trees. As well, it is our understanding that efforts to clear fallen trees and roads of snow and ice are progressing, but are hampered by current weather conditions.
Grounds: Despite the school grounds having less debris than last year, the freezing temperatures following the ice storm have made snow removal incredibly difficult. Additionally, many of our buildings’ exterior doors are frozen shut.
On Tuesday, Governor Whitmer issued a State of Emergency for Alpena and other counties. This declaration underscores the severity of the conditions we are facing.
Just as we saw last year, we anticipate that this official declaration will assist our efforts at the state level to seek relief for these additional closure days. We are hopeful that the legislature will provide the necessary forgiveness for schools closed during this declared emergency.
We know that many of our staff and students are still struggling to leave their homes due to downed trees, wires, and ice and snow accumulation. We are hopeful that the slightly warmer temperatures in the forecast will aid in the regional recovery.
Our priority remains the safety of our students and the integrity of our facilities. We fully anticipate returning to normal operations on Monday, March 23rd.
Sincerely,
Dave Rabbideau