Students could return to The Sanibel School soon

Reporter: Haley Zarcone Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

The Lee County School District just announced students on Sanibel could return to school as soon as Monday.

This is the news families have been waiting for since hurricanes Helene and Milton left the campus in shambles.

It’s the same story at Fort Myers Beach Elementary but there’s still no word on when kids could return to their classrooms.

WINK News spoke with a mother who says she can’t wait to send her son back to his school but she understands that the wait to get back in the classroom is for a good reason.

Weeks ago parents received an email saying that the Sanibel School and Fort Myers Beach Elementary were not ready to reopen after Hurricane Milton.

At Wednesday night’s Lee County School Board meeting, damage to those schools was addressed.

These presentation slides were shown of the Sanibel school:

Seven buildings in total were damaged.

They needed repairs to the floors, drywall and carpet.

The school district says they’re conducting an air quality test this week, and have set a tentative back-to-school date for Monday, Nov. 11, pending the test results.

WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone spoke to a mom of a senior school student who says sending her son back to school before the new year is a miracle.

“I was preparing myself for, I was not going back until January, after the holidays. So hearing that it could be Monday, you know, I’m just so excited. I drive by the school every day, and I’ve been seeing a lot of contractors, and I love all the testing that they’re doing and as long as the building is safe,” said Jillian.

To be clear: the Sanibel school reopening on Monday is a tentative date. The school district said they should know more by Thursday.

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