CMS schools will stay closed Monday: It’s Day 3 of Hurricane Florence break

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will remain closed Monday, with Hurricane Florence expected to drench the Charlotte area over the weekend, the district announced Friday.

The state’s second-largest district has been closed since Thursday, when officials decided to “err on the side of caution” and keep students away while five high schools were set up as shelters for coastal evacuees.

“Our community remains in a declared official state of emergency by state and local leaders,” a news release says. “Experts advise that the full impact of Hurricane Florence in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region will be most severe on Sunday, Sept. 16, into Monday, Sept. 17, and may include severe flooding, widespread power outages, downed trees, road closures and limited access to school buildings and facilities. Red Cross officials advise that shelters now open on CMS campuses will remain open as needed to meet needs of evacuees.”

The district has not announced makeup days, but the first three scheduled days are Dec. 19, the first day of winter break; Jan. 2, the last day of winter break; and Jan. 22, a teacher work day that follows the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Students were already slated to have one day off next week: Wednesday is a prescheduled teacher work day.

Ann Doss Helms: 704-358-5033, @anndosshelms