SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — As people across Spalding County continue to clean up from last week’s violent storms, Channel 2 Action News has learned that it’s not the damage that’s keeping schools from reopening – it’s the lack of power.
Channel 2′s Veronica Griffin learned that the schools being closed are keeping some students from having at least two meals a day that they can depend on.
Jeremy Williams has four school-aged children who are part of the 9,500 Griffin-Spaulding kids still missing class due to Thursday’s storm.
“We’re glad to be alive, but at the same time you still need power,” parent Jeremy Williams said. “They miss school, but they enjoy being around us at the same time. It’s good.”
Williams’ home is still without power but even during the cold nights, he chose to keep his family at home together.
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City officials say several families weren’t so fortunate that some 400 school children were displaced at some point since the storm -- some possibly just for short-term -- at warming stations.
“We don’t want to separate too much. We want to stay close at all times. Be sure to watch over each other,” Williams said.
As power crews work through the day into the night, school officials are hopeful power will be back soon. They’re especially concerned about the students who depend on the two meals they receive each day while in school.
“We’ll be working on their social and emotional needs and continue to support them as we continue to access when school will resume,” Adam Push with the Griffin-Spalding School District said.
Schools are expected to remain closed through Wednesday.
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