Forecast change prompted early dismissal of Pasco schools

NEW PORT RICHEY — Journey Sanders kicked her feet anxiously against the floor.

The school building had emptied out. Many of her classmates had been picked up by parents. A few hitched rides on buses.

About three hours had passed since the evacuation order, and Journey, 7, was the last one left.

"Yay!" she shouted at 12:45 p.m., 15 minutes after the last bus had departed. She ran up and squeezed her father's leg. "Let's go home."

Schrader Elementary School, on Little Road, sent all of its 650 students home before 1 p.m. Monday. Pasco school officials ordered the early dismissals countywide after changes in the forecast for Tropical Storm Colin on Monday morning, including predicted winds up to 45 mph.

Many students had just begun their school days; others had not even started.

While the process seemed to go smoothly for the schools and students, it presented some headaches for many parents, including those in Pinellas, where the storm pushed officials to release students 90 minutes early Monday. Hillsborough County schools, meanwhile, rescheduled two graduations to later in the week and canceled night classes but did not alter the regular school day.

In Pasco, Tiffany Torti drove to Schrader Elementary late Monday morning to pick up her daughter, Juliana. Without an umbrella, she and her daughter quickly ran through the rain to her car. Luckily, she had not yet started her shift at a local rehabilitation center.

"I think they should have just canceled schools last night," Torti said.

Many parents complained about confusion over which grade levels were being dismissed at which times. A mother wrote on the school district's Facebook page that her daughter, a student at Moon Lake Elementary, was "soaked" after an early bus drop-off.

Superintendent Kurt Browning addressed parents' concerns in a news release Monday afternoon.

"I understand that this decision has been disruptive to many, but I believe that it was the right decision to make in the interest of student and employee safety," Browning said.

At Schrader, about 450 students' families had come to pick them up before the buses arrived at 12:30 p.m. The evacuation proceeded smoothly. The cafeteria staff even provided early meals to all 650 students.

"We fed all of them in 20 minutes," principal Lee-Anne Yerkey said.

Pasco schools are familiar with responses to tropical storms. But Monday was a first, Yerkey said.

"This is my 23rd year in Pasco schools," she said. "I do not recall any day where we closed after the school day started."

Had the shift in forecast occurred earlier Monday morning, all classes would have been canceled, district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

"If we had the info we have now, we wouldn't have ever opened schools," Cobbe said.

As Monday's early dismissals began, Yerkey said she was prepared to stay until the last student was picked up. So when Journey walked out at 12:45, she felt pleased.

"This was a team effort," Yerkey said.

Contact Hannah Alani at halani@tampabay.com or (813) 909-4617. Follow @hannahalani.