Ryan Dailey

Tallahassee Democrat

Gov. Rick Scott sent an announcement late Thursday evening mandating that all K-12 public schools, state colleges and state universities close Friday through Monday to begin preparations for Irma’s landfall.

"Floridians are facing a life-threatening storm in Hurricane Irma, and every family must prepare to evacuate," the statement from Scott read. "Our state’s public schools serve a vital role in our communities as shelters for displaced residents and staging areas for hurricane recovery efforts."

The press release seemed to catch local officials by surprise. Leon County Schools, Florida State University, and Florida A&M notified students that class would be in session Friday.

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Three hours earlier, LCS Tweeted "We remain in the 'cone'; schools are open tomorrow; will announce info about Monday either tomm. or Saturday."

About 20 minutes after the Democrat tweeted the call from the governor and tried to call school officials, LCS tweeted that they are "complying with this call" and "to help spread the word."

In a followup robocall announcing the closure to parents, Superintendent Rocky Hanna apologized for the late call and the burden the late closure would place on parents.

Tallahassee Community College told the Democrat it will close at midnight and campus will reopen on Sept. 12

The Democrat reached an official from FSU, who told the Democrat he would call back with more information. About an hour later, they tweeted that university would be closed Friday through Monday.

FAMU officials tweeted "the university has just recieved new information. Please stand by for updates." At 9:55, they issued a text message saying the university would be closed.

Read the full text of Scott’s statement below:

“Today, I am directing the closure of all public schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices for their normal activities effective Friday through Monday, to ensure we have every space available for sheltering and staging. Floridians are facing a life-threatening storm in Hurricane Irma, and every family must prepare to evacuate. Our state’s public schools serve a vital role in our communities as shelters for displaced residents and staging areas for hurricane recovery efforts. Closing public schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices will provide local and state emergency officials the flexibility necessary to support shelter and emergency response efforts.”