Richland 1 and 2 schools to open under one-hour delay next week

Students in Richland 1 and 2 school districts will report to school a little earlier next week.

The districts’ schools will open with a one-hour delay next week. The two districts reopened this week under a two-hour delay so bus drivers, parents and students could drive the new routes to school during daylight hours, officials have said.

Hundreds of bus routes throughout Richland County have been redrawn around road and bridge closures caused by the historic flooding last week.

Students will report to Richland 2 schools only Monday through Wednesday next week. As originally scheduled, Thursday and Friday will remain student holidays, according to a release from Richland 2 spokeswoman Libby Roof.

Richland 2 officials will re-assess the bus routes and traffic patterns next week to determine whether the delay will continue after next week, Roof said.

Richland 2 school district has plans to make up four days missed last week because of flooding, but district officials have not yet decided whether to make up or waive the fifth day, Roof said.

Richland 2 students will attend school on Feb. 15, March 25 and April 29 – three makeup days that were already scheduled into the district’s calendar. Richland 2 students will also report to school on Jan. 4, which was previously scheduled as a teacher workday.

Richland 1 school district plans to make up all seven days missed because of flooding. The district will now have school on Feb. 15, March 18 and May 30 – three days previously scheduled as inclement weather makeup days. Richland 1 will also have school next Friday, which was previously a teacher workday.

Richland 1 has not yet announced how it will make up the remaining three days.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:24 AM.