Most public schools in Nova Scotia will remain closed for a second day on Tuesday as the region cleans up from post-tropical storm Fiona, while schools in the hardest hit areas of Cape Breton will be shut down for the remainder of the week.
Fiona struck the province with hurricane-force winds Friday night into Saturday — causing widespread damage and power outages.
Most schools were closed on Monday.
Classes will be cancelled again on Tuesday for schools in:
- Halifax Regional Centre for Education
- Strait Regional Centre for Education
- Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education
- Conseil scolaire acadien provincial schools (CSAP) in its northern and metro groups
In a letter to families, the acting director for Halifax Regional Centre for Education said while their teams are making great progress, there is still work to be done to ensure schools are safe.
“A number of schools are still awaiting power restoration, as are two of the three transportation service provider dispatch offices,” wrote Steve Gallagher.
“We expect most schools and offices will be able to reopen safely on Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, schools in Cape Breton’s Victoria County and Cape Breton Regional Municipality, which are under local states of emergency, will remain closed through Thursday. Friday was already a scheduled holiday to mark Truth and Reconciliation Day.
Those schools affected are in:
- Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education
- CSAP’s Centre scolaire etoile de l’Acadie
The cancellations are due to power outages and unsafe road conditions. Staff are assessing all schools to make sure buildings and properties are safe, before staff and students return.
There may be additional closures for individual schools at the following centres:
- Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education
- South Shore Regional Centre for Education
- Tri-County Regional Centre for Education
- CSAP schools in its south group
Those individual schools will reach out to families.