read to the end...lol...

"We have been hearing from many people regarding our decision to close schools today and tomorrow as a response to the state of emergency being called for Hurricane Florence. Just to recap, this decision was made on Tuesday afternoon after meeting with local officials, speaking with state officials, and hearing from a number of anxious parents who live near local bodies of water or in easily isolated areas of the county and were looking to leave their homes for the duration of the storm. We knew at the time that the forecast was subject to change but decided to err on the side of caution, allow families to have time to execute whatever response they wished to avoid the potential harms of the storm, and give our operations personnel time to ensure that our two designated schools would be ready and accessible as emergency shelters should they be needed. While the potential impact on our area seems to change every few hours and we now know that the storm will reach us later than originally projected, we hope everyone can understand that the decision to close was a collaborative one and that there were several factors that contributed to the final decision that was made.

We also know that many people agree with this course of action and that there are many who disagree. While we appreciate that our citizens have very strong opinions regarding these types of decisions, we do ask that the expression of these opinions be made in a productive and respectful manner. Please feel free to e-mail your questions or concerns directly to me at [email protected] or include them in a letter that can be mailed to 202 N. Washington Ave. Pulaski, VA 24301. Please do not use profanity or make personal insults on the PCPS Facebook page as many of our followers are students for whom we are hoping to provide more positive examples of adult interaction. Also, if you feel strongly enough about an issue to call the school board office, please try to refrain from using profanity or making insults to the ladies answering the phone as they are not involved in making decisions about school closings.

Perhaps the greatest strength of Pulaski County is the overwhelming sense of community and the way our citizens step in and step up during times of trouble to take care of each other. We do not yet know the full impact of Hurricane Florence on our area but hopefully, it will be minimal and life will get back to normal next week. Pulaski County Public Schools will continue to monitor the storm's progression and remain in communication with emergency management officials throughout the weekend with the plan of releasing an official statement sometime Sunday afternoon regarding the status of our schools for Monday, September 17, 2018.