Mother Nature certainly had its way with Lindenhurst and its schools in the past two weeks.
A Noreaster on Wednesday knocked out power at the McKenna Administration Building, and therefore phones and Internet to the Lindenhurst School District, and took out heat at Daniel Street Elementary School, causing officials to close the schools on Thursday.
And in the midst of the devastation wreaked by on Lindenhurst by Hurricane Sandy in the last two weeks, Harding Avenue Elementary School, located South of Montauk Highway, has been offline without power, causing the District to split the students up when schools finally reopened on Wednesday after being closed for more than a week.
However, schools are open on Friday, November 9, according to Superintendent Richard Nathan. (A School Messenger phone message went out on Thursday night.)
"Power and heat are back at Daniel Street, and power is back at central administration," he told Lindenhurst Patch on Thursday night.
Nathan also told Patch since Harding is still without power "students will be split for one more day."
Kindergarten and grades one and two were sent to William Rall Elementary School while grades three, four and five were sent to the Lindenhurst Middle School.
Nathan told Patch on Wednesday the split went smoothly, as did the first day back since Sandy.
"The students were in their own classrooms with their own teachers, and they were fed breakfast and lunch," he said.
Nathan also said he's hoping by next Tuesday, November 13, Harding will be back online.
When asked if schools would be open instead of closed on Monday, November 12, for the regularly scheduled Veterans' Day holiday on Sunday, November 11, in order to make up for the days the District has already been closed due the storms, the superintendent explained schools would be closed.
"New York state tells us we have to be closed on certain holidays. The state would have to change laws for that to change," he explained.
As for how and when the District will have to make up the days it's been closed due to the storms, Nathan explained that, too, is mandated by NYS.
"What has to occur is another change in the law. For instance we would have to use up all of our holidays first for the state, at its discretion, to allow an additional five days," the superintendent said.
"There are several legislators who put up a bill to make a change, but we're not sure what the outcome will be yet. Therefore no decision has been made for the District yet. We have to wait and see," he said.
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