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Schools

Stamford Public Schools Delay Opening Until Sep. 6

Due to continued power outages from Hurricane Irene, Stamford Public Schools will delay their first day of school until Tuesday, Sep. 6.

The students of will begin the new school year having already used two of their weather related calamity days due to Hurricane Irene. Schools were slated to open this Thursday, however, as of Tuesday evening at the Board of Education meeting, six schools, 9,700 residents and 25 roads were still without power. Mayor Michael Pavia, Acting Superintendent Winifred Hamilton and city officials made the decision to delay the opening of school until Tuesday Sep. 6.

“We had a collaborative group that included Mayor Pavia, Al Barbaroota [SPS director of facilities management], the Stamford police station, fire department, and paramedics,” Hamilton said. “We asked everyone for input and today at 3 p.m. the city decided a delay is the safest decision.”

Although 14 schools had restored power and two more were expected by Tuesday evening, Connecticut Light and Power could say definitively that the other schools and residents would be restored by the start of school, said Hamilton.

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Pavia, in attendance at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, reiterated Hamilton’s comments about the collaborative nature in which this decision came about.

“The students are our most important constituents and we need to keep them safe,” said Pavia. “We would have opened on time if had all of the probabilities working in our favor, but no one could give us that assurance.”

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Aside from power outages, Hamilton said the Health Department had concerns about food at the schools spoiling from the storm.

Orientation for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, sixth and ninth grade students is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Sep. 2. Hamilton will make a decision Wednesday afternoon as to whether orientation can still be held on that day and will notify parents via ParentLink.

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