Northport Schools Reopen Wednesday, Elwood Closed

Northport-East Northport schools will reopen Wednesday, nearly a week and a half after Hurricane Sandy left tens of thousands of residents without power and the roads blocked by storm debris. All ten buildings have power and hot lunch will be served.

Superintendent Marylou McDermott originally announced a Monday opening, but retracted the decision once the district became aware that it is illegal to reopen schools without bus transportation. Read the story here.

Buses are now available, although many stops have been changed. Please check your stop in the attached PDF.

"Throughout the weekend we assessed every bus route and every bus stop," Superintendent McDermott wrote in an email. "We modified bus stops that were inaccessible and each building principal made Connect-ed and/or personal calls informing families of the temporary accessible bus stops for their children. We posted the accessible bus stops on the District’s webpage as well as the school pages. We also posted the temporary bus stops on the windows at each of the schools."

Nearby Elwood School District will remain closed Wednesday, despite full power to all schools, due to persistent dangerous road conditions. Staff will report to their schools from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for a Superintendent’s Conference Day. The district will update parents on whether Elwood schools will reopen by 5 p.m. Wednesday.

"I personally surveyed the road conditions of over half the district and it is evident that I cannot transport students in school buses without endangering their safety," Elwood Superintendent Peter Scordo announced Tuesday. "The New York State Education Department has advised us that we cannot open school unless we can offer bus transportation to all of the students that we usually transport."

Huntington and South Huntington School Districts are also remaining closed due to concerns over road conditions and increasingly bad weather expected to arrive Wednesday night with the coming Nor'Easter.

Do you think Northport-East Northport Schools should reopen? Should Elwood Schools remain closed? Tell us in the comments below.