Lee County parents push for clarity on school reopenings post-Milton

Parents are demanding answers from the Lee County School District.

It’s still not clear when students will return to Sanibel School or Fort Myers Beach Elementary after facing Hurricane Milton.

Families living on barrier islands went through this struggle after Ian too.

Some parents decided to speak up at the school board meeting Tuesday night.

WINK News reporter Maddie Herron attended the meeting to hear from the frustrated parents and see how the district responds.

The district said it themselves that there’s a problem.

After recent storms shook up their student’s schools, many frustrated parents faced the Lee County School Board, looking for answers to questions like what is going on at their school, and when can they return?

While they may not have answers, parents said they do feel heard.

At the Sanibel School, there’s no place like home, but after Hurricane Milton, students and teachers have had to relocate.

Michelle Walker’s daughter Quinn is in 7th grade, “It’s hard to live where there is disaster everywhere you look.”

Like many of the island’s students, she now attends Heights Elementary. A temporary move parents, like Walker, have seen troubles with.

“Some kids are on the bus for an hour or two or three, I’ve even heard after school. That’s devastating. It is a lot to ask of these kids,” said Walker.

Sporting the Sanibel School’s signature blue color, parents lined up to speak directly to the Lee County School Board on Tuesday night.

Concerns the district said it now hears.

Dr. Ken Savage, the Superintendent for Lee County Schools, said, “With the adjustment of routes, there were significant issues of buses either being late or not picking up.”

“Not only do we want to do the stabilization and then try and get folks back into their building as soon as we possibly can, but safely,” he explained.

The school’s Parent Teacher Association president, Alicia Clark, understands why her school’s doors remain closed. But she hopes what does open are clearer channels of communication.

Clark told WINK, “I’m hoping now that they heard us tonight, that their response on the thoroughness of the damage will be exposed to us, so we will have a better understanding of where we need to go from here.”

The superintendent also said that he and his team plan to send out weekly updates to keep the community informed.