Schools sheltering homeless open Wednesday
Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced eight large high schools that are still sheltering people made homeless by Hurricane Sandy won't open to students until Wednesday,the Daily News reported.In addition, students at 57 severely damaged schools will begin classes in temporary quarters on Wednesday.
Most students will return to school on Monday. Schools are closed for Election Day on Tuesday.
The buildings still sheltering storm victims are: Brooklyn Technical High School, John Jay Educational Campus and FDR High School in Brooklyn; Graphic Communication Arts and George Washington Educational Campus in Manhattan; Hillcrest High School in Queens; and Tottenville and Susan E. Wagner high schools in Staten Island. The mayor had originally planned to have students attend classes alongside the storm victims, but changed course after staff complained that sharing space was unworkable. WNYC reportedthat many of the storm victims at Brooklyn Tech have mental and physical problems; that there was inadequate staff to care for them; and that some nursing home patients were having bathroom accidents because they couldn't make to the toilets on time. NY1 reportedthat the stench inside Graphic Communication Arts was so bad that even police officers wore masks. The Department of Homeless Services was trying to find alternative shelter for the displaced people.
The Department of Education posted alist of the 57 schoolsthat are severely damaged, including Bard Early College High School, PS 126, Millennium High School and Life Sciences Secondary School in Manahttan; PS 15, Mark Twain, Bay Academy and Dewey High School in Brooklyn and a number of schools in the Rockaways in Queens. Students will be assigned to other schools until their buildings are repaired. Arrangements for transportation will be made Monday and Tuesday. The Daily News quoted UFT President Michael Mulgrew as saying "at least 45" of the schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year--until June 2013.
The Department of Education also posted a list of schools that are without power. The list will be updated Sunday evening. On a positive note, a Staten Island offical predicted that only two or three schools on Staten Island--the borough hardest hit by the storm--will be unusable Monday morning,the Associated Press reported, quoting Sam Pirozzolo, the head of the Community Education Council for the borough.
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