Sarasota County Schools Set Tuesday Status Ahead Of Hurricane Irma

SARASOTA, FL - As Hurricane Irma draws nearer to Florida's west coast, Sarasota County has announced a decision about the status of its schools. Kids in Sarasota County will have an even longer weekend thanks to Irma. The district intends to close up shop through Tuesday at least.

Schools in Sarasota County will be closed on Monday, Sept. 11, and Tuesday, Sept. 12, Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Todd Bowden announced Sunday morning.

The district also closed all schools and offices on Friday, Sept. 8, to ready for Hurricane Irma. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts from Sarasota Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. Click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

As of 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10, Hurricane Irma was 80 miles south-southeast of Naples, according to the National Hurricane Center, packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.

Watch: Hurricane Irma Officially Arrives In Florida

Sarasota County closed drawbridges to marine traffic, discontinued SCAT bus service and canceled residential trash pickup until further notice as of Sunday morning.

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A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for Sarasota residents in Zone A, on barrier islands (Longboat, Lido, Siesta, Casey and Manasota Keys and the Island of Venice) and those in mobile homes. Residents were asked to evacuate by 8 p.m. Saturday.

The county issued a voluntary evacuation for people who live in Zone B. To look up evacuation zone by address, visit the county’s website.

The Sarasota County superintendent's decision for schools to remain closed through Tuesday came days after an order from the governor impacting schools statewide.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott issued an order that public schools, colleges and state universities would be closed until Monday.

“I am directing the closure of all public schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices for their normal activities effective Friday through Monday, to ensure we have every space available for sheltering and staging,” Scott said in a statement Thursday.
“Floridians are facing a life-threatening storm in Hurricane Irma," Scott said, "and every family must prepare to evacuate.”

Scott explained that many public schools serve as community shelters and staging areas for hurricane recovery efforts. See Sarasota County's list of shelters.

Patch editor Sherri Lonon contributed to the reporting.

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