WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida's Department of Education on Friday ordered pubic schools closed for two weeks as a precaution against coronavirus.
It's a difficult decision that goes well beyond the classroom.
Sophie Lemus was picking her child up at Bear Lake Middle school in West Palm Beach shortly after it was announced Friday would be the last day of school throughout the state.
"The superintendent called; they left a voicemail. So as of Monday there's no school," she said.
Superintendent Donald Fennoy announced before that state order that all schools will be closed in Palm Beach County next week in addition to spring break the following week.
Most parents understood the move.
"At the end of the day it's our kids. They come in contact with the teachers, the teachers come in contact with different things other than what are kids get into so it is a good thing," one parent, Alayna, said.
Feeding centers are being set up for students who rely on the district for a daily meal. The locations will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at various schools. Families will be able to pick up prepped and bagged meals for their children.
"I understand that closing schools will be a burden on many families I don’t take this lightly,” Fennoy said.
That includes finding day care by parents unable to take time off from work.
Many parents say they're going to have to get creative to make sure the learning doesn't stop with classes out.
"I'm going to go to the library and go get some books and they're going to read and they're going to do google home and all that other stuff and get their studying," one parent said.
Lemus thinks the right thing is being done.
"Some of the kids have underlying medical issues so I'd rather be safe than sorry. For them to get it and pass it on to the elder," she said.
