San Francisco State University and City College San Francisco are among the large number of Bay Area schools closing Thursday because of a potentially dangerous wind and rainstorm moving into the area.
SFSU will close at 10 p.m. tonight and remain closed through 8 a.m. Friday, officials said today.
City College has canceled all Thursday classes and anticipates reopening on Friday, but students are advised to check the web site for updates.
The closures are the latest of many to be announced throughout the Bay Area as a major storm touted as possibly the largest since 2008 approaches.
All San Francisco Unified School District schools and school districts in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and Sonoma counties have canceled school for Thursday.
In Alameda County, public school districts in the cities of Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland, San Lorenzo, Fremont and Hayward have announced closures. The West Contra Costa and New Haven school districts have also announced closures.
In response to the school closure, Oakland Parks and Recreation officials are providing “Schools Out- Rec’s In” child care programming on Thursday at city recreation centers. Parents should contact the nearest Oakland recreation center for details.
Most schools in Marin County are closed. A full list of closures is available at www.marinschools.org/SafeSchools/Pages/EmergencyServices/school-status.aspx
Several schools in Sonoma County are closed as well. A list of Sonoma County closures is available at www.scoe.org/pub/htdocs/storm-update.html
In addition the Novato Unified School District has already announced schools will be closed Friday.
Most school districts anticipate being open on Friday, though San Francisco Unified officials said a final decision will be made before 5 p.m. Thursday.
Oakland district officials said in a statement, “This is not a decision we make lightly, but given the severe weather predictions and the safety implications for students and staff, we want to take every precaution in order to safeguard our community.”
District officials said that what the National Weather Service refers to as a “powerful Pacific storm” with heavy rain and wind gusts “poses a significant safety risk for our students and staff.”
It will be a workday for Oakland schools central office staff but they will work from home, district officials said.
SFUSD Superintendent Richard Carranza said in a statement, “We don’t want to risk having our students injured or seriously delayed transporting to and from school. In addition to student absences, the storm could result in large numbers of staff absences, which could then lead to inadequate supervision of our students.”
Sara Gaiser and Scott Morris, Bay City News
