Dougherty County schools delay opening until Monday UPDATE

ALBANY — Officials with the Dougherty County School System say they are delaying the start of the new school semester until Monday, and teachers are being asked to report at 1 p.m. Friday.

Principals and department heads are to report to the school administration building on Pine Avenue at 10:30 a.m. for a briefing. Only one official with each school should attend the session.

“Any employee who is unable to report to their workstation by 1 pm on Friday should notify their supervisor,” DCSS spokesman J.D. Sumner said Thursday. “Any employee directly involved in the recovery effort will be provided an alternate work schedule by their supervisor.”

Teachers had originally been expected back at work on Tuesday, but that was pushed to Thursday in the aftermath of the severe storm system that swept through Monday night and before dawn Tuesday, and finally to Friday afternoon.

Students had been scheduled to return to classes Thursday, but that already had been pushed to Friday and then Monday.

“The latest status report indicates that significant progress has been made in the storm recovery process, however, several DCSS facilities and thousands of households are still without power,” system spokesman J.D. Sumner said Wednesday morning. “Also, some roadways are still impassable, which would make it difficult to navigate school buses.”

Sumner said that “based on that information, and out of an abundance of caution,” employees not involved in the DCSS recovery effort should report to their regular work locations at 8 a.m. Friday.

“Schools will reopen for students beginning Monday, January 9th,” he said. “The bus routes and school start times will be on the normal schedule.”

At last report, as many as nine schools were without power.

Deerfield-Windsor School headmaster Dave Davies announced late Wednesday afternoon that both the lower and upper campuses of the college prep school would open for classes today, as scheduled. Davies’ counterpart at Sherwood Christian Academy, however, said that school would not be open today.

“First of all, our building is in great shape,” Sherwood headmaster Brian Dougherty said early Wednesday evening. “We could have school, but one of the big problems we’re facing is Internet access. That impacts us throughout the school. Plus, so many in our school family have been displaced that I have decided not to open the school tomorrow.

“So many of our students are working with our school and church family to help with cleanup from the storm, and I think that’s what’s most important at this point. We’ll make a determination about Friday tomorrow.”

Students returned to Byne Christian School in Albany and public schools in Mitchell County earlier this week.

Messages left with officials at St. Teresa’s Catholic School in Albany, which reportedly suffered severe damage during the storm, were not returned by The Herald’s press time.

Mary Braswell and Carlton Fletcher contributed to this report.