Valdosta and Lowndes County School set to reopen after Hurricane Helene damage

• Over 300 families in Lowndes County schools have been displaced, with schools offering support and accommodations.
• Over 2,000 home in the Lowndes County area saw severe damage in Hurricane Helene.
• Watch the video to hear from area schools about reopening.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT

After a week of no classes due to Helene…our schools are finally returning to the classroom.

Jennifer Steedley with the Valdosta City system says they spent the week assessing damage and have decided to reopen schools to students on October 8th.

"We do have some minor damages, some roof damage on some place, maybe exterior like walkways and things like that, but for the most part we did not have any major damage where roofs collapsed."

Students who will not be able to attend due to blocked roads or displacement will not have their absences count against them.

"We know we need to provide our families and staff with normalcy, and opening our doors is the way to do that."

In Lowndes County schools will open on October 9th.

Superintendent Sandra Wischer says they'll be working overtime on providing accommodations for students in need.

"Over 3000 families completed the survey... From our 3000 surveys, we found out that around 330 of our families had to relocate from their home temporarily. And approximately 130 of those said they would be displaced for an extended period of time."

It's not just students; teachers are coming in despite many seeing their homes destroyed.

"They had trees in their homes, they had other damage and they wanted to come out and be part of something bigger than themselves."

The local colleges are also coming back this week: Valdosta State is going online and Wiregrass will return October 8th. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.