Area Schools Closed Again Friday

Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown district officials announced Thursday that schools will be closed Friday for a fifth straight day following damage suffered by Superstorm Sandy.

The school closings Friday will mean students in the Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown districts will have been out of classes for an entire week. Both the Wantagh and Seaford superintendents expressed hope that schools will be able to reopen Monday if power is restored. As of mid Thursday afternoon, the Long Island Power Authority was reporting more than 12,000 outages in the Wantagh-Seaford area.

Seaford Superintendent of Schools Brian Conboy said that in addition to problems powering the school buildings, the district’s website has also been down making communication a challenge. He also emphasized that districts are concerned about running buses with few traffic signals working.

Goldberg said that in addition to school being closed Friday, all previously scheduled athletic games and practices this weekend have been cancelled. The SAT that was to be offered in Wantagh Saturday is also postponed pending notification from the College Board. 

“It is my hope that within the next few days power will return, however, LIPA is still unable to predict when our electricity will be restored,” said Wantagh Acting Superintendent Maureen Goldberg in a message addressed to district parents. “Please know that I will regularly communicate with you as we all continue to deal with the aftermath of this unprecedented storm.”