Midlands school district pushes back school start times all week due to Helene power loss

One Midlands school district is delaying school for the rest of the week as the region continues to struggle with the after effects of Hurricane Helene.

Lexington-Richland 5 will delay school start times by one hour on Thursday and Friday, the district announced Wednesday afternoon.

“All schools and offices in School District Five of Lexington & Richland Counties are fully operational with electricity, internet access, and other utilities,” the school district said in a news release. “Bus routes ran (Wednesday) morning with minimal disruption. However, in an effort to support staff and families who are still without electricity and allow buses to begin their routes with more daylight, all School District Five schools and offices will operate on a one-hour delay on Thursday, October 3, 2024, and Friday, October 4, 2024.”

The Chapin-Irmo area district had joined many other Midlands schools in starting on a two-hour delay on Wednesday , after closing schools on Monday and Tuesday .

High winds from Helene as the storm passed through the area Thursday and Friday has left many in the Palmetto State without power for days. As of Wednesday, nearly 500,000 people were still without power statewide . The website PowerOutage.us listed 10,097 customers without power in Lexington County Wednesday afternoon, and 3,187 without power in Richland County.