Continuing rain forced five North Georgia school systems to close today and forecasters say there’s more wet weather on the way.
Classes are canceled today in the Catoosa, Chattooga and Walker county systems and in the Chickamauga and Trion city systems. Some other systems will decide this morning whether to shutter schools.
North Georgia school officials said they will post closures on their Web sites or notify parents through parents through “SchoolCast” or similar phone, text or e-mail systems.
Only two Hamilton County schools closed Monday. Schools spokeswoman Danielle Clark said the district would decide this morning whether schools will open today.
More rain was forecast for Monday night. Forecasters say the rain comes from a low-pressure system over the Southeast and that more rain is likely through the week.
On Monday, heavy rains and widespread flooding in North Georgia forced closures in Catoosa, Chattooga and Walker counties plus Chickamauga and Trion.
Whitfield County schools closed early. Elementary school students were dismissed at 11 a.m. and middle- and high-schoolers were dismissed at noon, spokesman Eric Beavers said.
Whitfield escaped Monday’s deluge with minimal damage, he said.
“We did have some minor roof leaks, but no damage to our buildings due to the heavy rain,” Mr. Beavers said.
In Hamilton County, McBrien Elementary School was open Monday after being closed Thursday and Friday for flooding. High waters closed Clifton Hills and Falling Water elementary schools about an hour before classes were to begin, officials said.
Schools in Dade County, Ga., went on even though school buses couldn’t travel some flooded roads Monday, Superintendent Patty Priest said.
“We had a few roads our buses couldn’t get down, but we felt like we should have school as best we could,” she said.
Ms. Priest said officials at the central office in Trenton stayed in close contact with county emergency officials and kept a keen eye on a nearby creek.
“Lookout Creek is just down from our office and that’s a really good indication of what’s happening,” she said.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
Kelli Gauthier covers K-12 education in Hamilton County for the Times Free Press. She started at the paper as an intern in 2006, crisscrossing the region writing feature stories from Pikeville, Tenn., to Lafayette, Ga. She also covered crime and courts before taking over the education beat in 2007. A native of Frederick, Md., Kelli came south to attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. Before newspapers, ...
Kevin rejoined the Times Free Press in August 2011 as the Southeast Tennessee K-12 education reporter. He worked as an intern in 2009, covering the communities of Signal Mountain, Red Bank, Collegedale and Lookout Mountain, Tenn. A native Kansan, Kevin graduated with bachelor's degrees in journalism and sociology from the University of Kansas. After graduating, he worked as an education reporter in Hutchinson, Kan., for a year before coming back to Chattanooga. Honors include a ...
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