2 SLO County school districts announce closures as new storm approaches
Students at two San Luis Obispo County school districts will have a day off Tuesday, as a new storm approaches the area.
In a message to families Monday afternoon, San Luis Coastal Unified District Superintendent Eric Prater said the district will close all its schools and cancel extracurricular activities due to another atmospheric river forecast to reach ounty overnight.
Prater said the storm “will most likely cause widespread flooding and road closures.”
“Closing schools is never taken lightly and is not an easy decision,” Prater said in the message. “At the core of our decision-making process is the safety of our 1,200 employees and 8,000 students, spanning multiple communities, geographical terrain and microclimates.”
He added: “We make every attempt to make these decisions in a timely manner to allow families and staff to make necessary plans. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. This has been a highly unusual winter in San Luis Obispo County and I, like you, look forward to the end of these storms.”
The district has campuses in Los Osos, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
In Cambria, Coast Unified School District also planned to close its campuses on Tuesday.
San Luis Obispo County Superintendent of Schools Jim Brescia said as of Monday afternoon it appeared only San Luis Coastal and Coast Unified school districts were closing.
Lucia Mar Unified School District spokesperson Amy Jacobs said Monday that the South County school district did not have plans to close.
In his message, Prater said San Luis Coastal decided to shutter its campuses in part due to expectations that parts of Morro Bay — including South Bay Boulevard, Quintana Road, parts of Main Street and Highway 1 — will be closed due to flooding Tuesday.
The city of San Luis Obispo also expressed concerns Monday about creek, stream and low-lying area flooding during the storm.
“While other neighboring school districts may choose to remain open tomorrow,” Prater wrote, “It is important to note that our district has a unique geographic makeup, and road closures will have a significant impact on our employees and families who travel to our schools throughout the impacted areas.”
San Luis Coastal said it expects to reopen its schools on Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 6:48 PM.
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