Miami-Dade County School Start Date Still Uncertain

MIAMI, FL — While Miami-Dade County Schools officials were hopeful they could reopen the vast majority of schools by Monday, Sept. 18, the goal may not be possible. A final decision about whether school will begin again on Monday will be made either Saturday night or Sunday morning, but repair crews are facing significant difficulties getting the buildings ready for students and staff.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said that the main challenges to reopening the county schools were restoring power and making sure the roads were safe for travel. As of Friday, 100 schools were either inaccessible or lacked electricity.

Earlier in the week, Carvalho had said officials would consider consolidating some schools if necessary to reopen on schedule. (For more information about the recovery from Hurricane Irma, subscribe for free to the Miami Patchand receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you're outside of Miami, find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"Our top priorities are preparing all schools to welcome students and staff back to a safe and comfortable teaching and learning environment, while at the same time ensuring that everyone has adequate information and time to plan their first day back at school," Carvalho said in a statement. "We are in close communication with the utility companies that service our schools and expect full power restoration by this weekend."

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