Pasco County school officials began taking heat Tuesday soon after they announced classes would take place Wednesday despite the threat of Tropical Storm Helene.
Why, many people asked, would the district not follow the lead of its neighboring counties and shutter schools to give everyone more time to prepare? Reddit chains suggested the district dropped the ball. Online chat groups criticized the move as disregarding students’ and staff members’ safety.
“Although tomorrow’s weather may be fine, we must prioritize safety and give ample time for preparations,” Krinn Technical High School principal Chris Dunning, who is running for superintendent in November, wrote on his Facebook page.
Superintendent Kurt Browning stood firmly by his decision, as students began arriving Wednesday morning. He said the district prepared five campuses to serve as evacuation shelters after students departed Tuesday, and they’re ready to open at 4 p.m. Wednesday as scheduled.
It made no sense, Browning said, to cancel classes and lose a day of instructional time when the storm was not expected to be anywhere near — particularly when the forecast suggested that the weather and its aftermath might force schools to be closed both Thursday and Friday.
The district’s student calendar is “tight” on minutes, he noted, and the state Department of Education can’t be expected to waive the amount of time required for student learning.
“Why would I want to close schools when today is going to look like yesterday?” Browning said. “If parents are concerned about a bright sunny day, then keep your children home.”
Some bus drivers reported on social media that their routes were not full. The district reported that 92% of staff arrived for work, which is a normal level.
Browning rejected the idea that the district somehow was standing in the way of employees getting ready for Helene.
“Hurricane season started June 1. This is September 25th,” he said. “We have preached it. Everyone has said, prepare, prepare, prepare.”
Yes, there are last-minute things to do, Browning acknowledged. But like other families that work outside the schools, they had time after school Tuesday to complete those tasks.
Some people pointed out that the County Commission declared a local state of emergency that included a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, and suggested it was not fair to them for the school-based evacuation shelters not to be available until 4 p.m.
County emergency management director Andrew Fossa told commissioners Tuesday that he had asked the district to consider releasing students early Wednesday, but was rebuffed. He then added that the county should have time to get the evacuation done regardless.
Browning said he did not yield on the point because the reality of past hurricanes indicated that even with evacuation orders, people do not show up to shelters until they believe the threat is imminent, if at all. Fossa backed that up.
“Historically it has shown (if) we order an evacuation of Pasco County, people don’t move. They don’t listen,” he told commissioners.
He pointed to Hurricane Idalia in 2023, when low lying areas along the Gulf were flooded yet shelters reported having only handfuls of residents.
“I preach it ‘til I’m blue in the face, and then people of Pasco County are complacent,” Fossa said.
At the same time, Browning said, the district has to provide schooling for the many families who want their children in classes. He said during past storms when the district closed early, “I had folks ready to string me up because I closed schools and it’s bright and sunny and perfect out there.”
Denise Nicholas, a leader of the district’s countywide PTA Alliance, said almost all of the complaints she heard came from school district employees.
“I haven’t heard anything from parents, honestly,” Nicholas said, as she dropped off her child at school. “Some kids want to stay home.”
She backed the district’s decision, saying it seemed like whatever way it went, it would face critics.
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