All public schools and Dept of Education offices to close Thursday and Friday statewide

MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaii public schools and Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) offices statewide will be closed Thursday and Friday as Hurricane Lane approaches the islands as a powerful Category 4 storm.

“The safety of our students and staff remains our top priority as we prepare to weather this storm,” said Deputy Superintendent Phyllis Unebasami. “The statewide closures of our campuses and offices will give our school communities time to prepare as the storm is anticipated to make landfall on Oahu Thursday evening, and Kauai on Friday. This will allow the counties to stand up emergency shelters for the public statewide.”

To allow school communities and families time to prepare for the storm’s impacts, school and HIDOE office closures are already in place for Hawaii Island and Maui County.

Schools on Oahu and Kauai have been added for the remainder of the week as emergency officials warn of dangerous storm conditions for all islands, including heavy rain, flash flooding, high surf and strong winds. The public can follow the progress of the storm on the Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s website here: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc

The school day will proceed as normal for Oahu and Kauai today. Only essential personnel and disaster responders are to report to work Thursday and Friday.

HIDOE schools and offices will reopen on Monday, Aug. 27, unless otherwise noted.

The Department is working closely with county emergency management agencies and disaster relief organizations on the use of designated school campuses as evacuation shelters during the storm.

Maui County is opening shelters Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. for special needs persons and 2 p.m. for the general public. Honolulu County will open shelters at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 23.

The cancellation of all HIDOE after-school activities and programs, including interscholastic athletic events and After-School Plus (A+) Programs statewide, remains in effect through the weekend.

Also canceled is the Hawaii State Board of Education meeting that was scheduled for Friday, August 24. A new date will be a set and a new meeting notice will be sent out.

Status updates on school closures will be posted on HIDOE’s website and on social media — Twitter and Facebook (@HIDOE808).