JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools will reopen Monday, days after Hurricane Helene forced closures across the First Coast.
The school district made the announcement Saturday afternoon after the local state of emergency was lifted at 8 a.m.
City officials had previously said DCPS was assessing power and damage at some schools before deciding to reopen Monday.
"With appreciation to school and district staff, JEA, and all those who continue to support our recovery efforts, we are pleased to announce that Duval County Public Schools will return to normal operations on Monday, Sept. 30. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school," the district said in a social media update.
Helene brought rain and strong winds to the First Coast, downing trees and powerlines across the area leaving thousands without power.
Since the beginning of the storm, JEA crews have restored power to more than 267,000 customers.
Crews will continue to work around the clock until power is restored to all customers, the utility said in an update Saturday morning.
Right now, JEA is in Phase 2 of power restoration, which means crews are making repairs to electric circuits that could help restore power to thousands of homes at a time.
"Priority is given to making repairs that will restore power to the most customers," officials said. "We ask customers for patience as we continue our work."
JEA said the final phase of power restoration may continue early next week.
Any outages can be reported through jea.com/outage or by calling (904) 665-6000.
