FRIDAY UPDATE: Most Bay Area Schools To Be Open Friday, Many Schools In Sonoma County Remain Closed

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Schools across the Bay Area are announcing closures in anticipation of a powerful storm moving in early Thursday morning, including all the schools in Marin County, San Francisco Unified schools, Oakland Unified schools and Berkeley Unified schools. Some schools may also close Friday.

City College of San Francisco, the College of Marin and San Francisco State University have also announced closures.

CONTINUING STORM COVERAGE:

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NORTH BAY:

ALL Marin County Schools

North Bay Christian Academy, Novato

Shoreline Unified School District (Closed Friday)

Sonoma County Sebatopol Oak Grove Elementary School Santa Rosa Willowside Middle School Monte Rio Monte Rio School Cazadero Montgomery School Occidental Harmony Elementary School, Salmon Creek Charter School Forestville School, Forestville Academy Guerneville School



SAN FRANCISCO / PENINSULA:

EAST BAY:

SAN JOSE:

Rocketship Discovery Prep

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS:

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES:

Stay tuned to KCBS and KPIX 5 for the latest on school closures as we are following the storm.

SFUSD Superintendent Richard A. Carranza said Wednesday he is ordering the closure because he doesn’t want to risk students getting injured when trying to get to school Thursday morning.

Carranza says there could be a lot of staff absences and power outages that could affect the district’s ability to supervise and feed students.

“First and foremost, we don’t want to risk having our students injured or seriously delayed transporting to and from school. In addition to student absences, the storm could result in large numbers of staff absences, which could then lead to inadequate supervision of our students,” said Carranza.

SFUSD officials plan to reopen schools on Friday, but will monitor the storm and their campuses before making a determination by 5 p.m. Thursday.

The National Weather Service says the strongest winds will hit the San Francisco Bay Area between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Thursday.

All Catholic Schools in San Francisco will also close.

All public and private schools in Marin County will be closed, according to Superintendent Mary Jane Burke of the Larkspur/Corte Madera School District.

Novato schools had announced earlier that they’d close for two days in anticipation of the storm. Just south, in San Rafael, classes are called off for Thursday.

In addition, Oakland Unified School District will cancel class for Thursday as well. The district released a statement responding to the “extreme and potentially dangerous weather system arriving in the Bay Area”.

Oakland schools spokesman Troy Flint sent out the following release:

OUSD is canceling school for tomorrow, Thursday, December 11. This is not a decision we make lightly, but given the severe weather predictions and the safety implications for students and staff, we want to take every precaution in order to safeguard our community.

What the National Weather Service refers to as a “powerful Pacific storm” is expected to bring torrential rains, damaging winds, and flash floods, peaking during the morning commute hours on Thursday. Approximately five inches of rain are expected from Wednesday evening through Thursday with gusts reaching up to 39 miles per hour. Since this poses a significant safety risk for our students and staff, we’re canceling school as a precaution for Thursday. Other districts, like the neighboring San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and all Marin County public schools, have also taken the step.

For central office employees, Thursday, December 11 is a workday, but employees should not report to the office. Instead, they should work from home and be available (when necessary) via phone and email. The storm-front is expected to weaken on Thursday evening. Students and all staff will resume normal operations and school will be open on Friday, December 12.

We recognize this decision will interrupt the normal routine and require some families to seek other child-care alternatives and we apologize in advance for the inconvenience. We do, however, feel it’s our responsibility, given the dire reports from the National Weather Service, that we take this precaution and steps to maximize student and staff safety. Thank you for your cooperation in helping to ensure the safety of the Oakland Public School community.

Stay tuned to KCBS and KPIX 5 for the latest on school closures as we are following the storm.

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