News

CLOSINGS, DELAYS: Anson County schools will be closed Friday

Richmond, Anson and Chesterfield County schools will be closed Thursday for students and staff. District officials in Anson County told Channel 9 that school would be closed Friday as well.

In the mountain communities, Ashe, Avery and Watauga County schools originally planned on operating on a 2-hour delay, but all three districts decided early Thursday morning to cancel school for the day.

[School and Business Closings Alerts]

The bitter cold caused problems for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on Wednesday. The district had to shuffle students when the heat didn't work at some facilities.

[WINTER WEATHER: Bitter cold brings snow, ice to Carolinas]

North Mecklenburg High School is the one school that was closed Wednesday, but there were other schools that had some minor problems with heat and keeping classrooms warm.

CMS officials said they had various problems in fewer than 50 of their schools with heat in classrooms, hallways and other parts of the buildings.

Parents of students at Vance High School said their child’s classroom was cold.

At Hopewell High School, a cafeteria worker said the cafeteria was warm, but there were problems elsewhere in the school.

“I did hear that building nine was out of heat, but that was a couple hours after we got here this morning,” cafeteria worker Lynette Mercer said. “Someone came out to repair that.”

CMS officials said in a statement that some cold weather-related events occurred at fewer than 50 of the district's 176 schools ranging from no heat in a hallway or in various classrooms to a frozen pipe or broken chiller on some campuses.

CMS will operate on a normal schedule Thursday. The district announced that North Mecklenburg students will make up Wednesday's day off on Monday, Jan. 22.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg statement on heat issues:

CMS facilities management teams have been working, and continuing to work to repair and correct all identified issues. Many of the identified issues have already been repaired. In some cases, parts are being ordered and being delivered for repair today. These issues have not halted the educational process at any school with the exception of North Mecklenburg High School; as you know, North Meck was closed today and is expected to be ready for students to return on Thursday. CMS is making sure students in affected schools are able to transition to warm parts of school buildings to continue learning.  The district is continuing to monitor weather conditions and will alert families through normal communications channels if any schedule changes are announced.

CMS facilities management teams and/or contractors responded to heat-related requests for service at the schools or mobile units listed below. The issues ranged from pipe breaks and boilers not working, to electrical power outages. Many of the issues were limited to hallways, various classrooms or gyms. A majority of the issues were repaired immediately. Others are in the process of being repaired Wednesday evening.

  1. Alexander Graham
  2. Allenbrook ES
  3. Ashley Park
  4. Bain
  5. Barringer
  6. Berryhill
  7. Billingsville ES
  8. Blythe
  9. Butler
  10. Bruns
  11. Cornelius
  12. Davidson
  13. Eastover
  14. Elizabeth Lane
  15. Grier Rd.
  16. Hidden Valley
  17. Highland Ren.
  18. Hough HS
  19. Hopewell
  20. Joseph Grier
  21. JT Williams
  22. Marie G Davis
  23. Mint Hill
  24. Myers Park HS
  25. Nations Ford
  26. Newell
  27. North Meck HS
  28. Pineville
  29. Paw Creek
  30. Rama Road
  31. Reedy Creek
  32. Reid Park
  33. Selwyn
  34. Shamrock Gardens
  35. Sharon ES
  36. Smith
  37. South Charlotte
  38. South Meck
  39. Southwest MS
  40. Statesville Road
  41. Thomasboro
  42. Vance
  43. West Charlotte
  44. West Meck

Mobiles:

  1. Albemarle Rd ES
  2. Allenbrook
  3. Bailey MS
  4. Berryhill
  5. Briarwood
  6. Bruns
  7. Dillworth
  8. Druid Hills
  9. Garinger
  10. Hidden Valley ES
  11. Huntingtowne Farm
  12. JH Gunn
  13. JW Grier
  14. Matthews ES
  15. Myers Park
  16. Northpoint Transportation Trailer
  17. Northridge ES
  18. Oakdale
  19. Park Rd
  20. Piney Grove ES
  21. Stoney Creek
  22. Washam ES
  23. Whitewater

[WINTER WEATHER: Advisories in effect for local NC, SC counties]

The inclement winter weather hitting the Carolinas forced some school districts in the Charlotte area to dismiss students early.

Union County school officials dismissed students two hours early Wednesday due to the advisory. Officials said the after-school program will close at 4 p.m. and that all after-school/evening and athletic activities have been canceled.

At noon, cars were stacked bumper to bumper at Indian Trail Elementary.

They had to stop traffic for parents picking up children before lunch.

"I actually already (had) seen on your weather channel on Facebook that Union County was under weather advisory,” parent Kim Bernier said.

Bernier said she was ready to go when she got the call about the school’s early release.

Students at the school were also ready to get out early.

"As a child, I'm actually pretty excited about it,” student Katelin Bernier said.

"I think it's probably going to get colder,” student Gigi Arneson said.

District officials worried (that) a little bit of moisture would lead to snow and ice.

To be safe, they wanted to get the buses on the road and students picked up.

Students at Sun Valley High were talking about the weather before school officials decided to call for early release.

"Some students were talking to teachers, saying there was a storm coming,” student Fernando Guzman said.

Anson County school officials announced that all elementary schools would be released at 12:30 p.m. and all middle and high schools would release at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday due to inclement weather conditions.

Chesterfield County Schools dismissed early. Elementary schools released at 1 p.m., middle schools at 1:15 p.m. and high schools at 1:30 p.m.

Richmond County officials announced that all students were going to be dismissed at 1 p.m. and all afternoon and evening activities are canceled.