The Three Village School district has pushed back the first day of school, after storm damage from Tropical Storm Irene knocked out power to thousands in the district.
The district said classes will start on Sept. 6, and not this Thursday, as was previously planned.
A superintendent's conference set for Wednesday was also called off, but the staff meetings will likely be held Friday instead.
Find out what's happening in Three Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Interim superintendent Neil Lederer said all school buildings lost power except for Arrowhead Elementary, Setauket Elementary, and Gelinas Junior High. By Tuesday evening, Ward Melville, Murphy Junior High, Minnesauke Elementary, and the North Country Administration Center got power back, and only W.S. Mount Elementary and Nassakeag Elementary remained without electricity.
However, Lederer said another concern was the roadways of the community, and whether school buses could safely get through the residential streets to the bus stops.
Find out what's happening in Three Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"Some of them have a lot of accumulation of limbs and fallen trees," he said. "That now, frankly, is more of a concern than the power outages."
Another problem the district faces is informing the residents – many of whom are still without power – of the change.
"Just getting the word out and communicating has been problematic," Lederer said. "I'm not concerned about rescheduling. We have some leeway."
School board president John Diviney said Tuesday night the school calendar committee had yet to meet to determine how exactly to adjust the school calendar as a result of the change.
Athletic teams are being allowed to practice outdoors, but cannot go inside the buildings that don't have power.
As of Tuesday, nearly 2,000 people remained without power in Three Village, according to the Long Island Power Authority's outage maps. Though that data may not be up-to-date.
At least one student, Ward Melville senior Alex Michaels, said he was glad for a few more days of summer vacation.
"I get to work a little more on my AP assignments," Michaels said.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
