Eastern Kentucky school districts forced to delay start of school year after devastating flooding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Thousands of students in eastern Kentucky are still waiting to head back to school as their communities continue to pick up the pieces.

The area, hit by devastating flooding last week that left at least 37 people dead, is home to 18 school districts. Four of them returned to the classroom this week, but 14 others are still cleaning up and assessing damage.

Breathitt County Schools delayed the first day until Aug. 29, while Perry County Schools are scheduled to start on the same day. Floyd County Schools are scheduled to begin classes on Aug. 24. But, as of Monday, the school districts in Letcher and Knott Counties had not yet scheduled a new start date.

The state's department of education said damage varies school-by-school. But, the ones hit hardest are brainstorming how to get kids back to class.

"They're also looking at solutions, such as bringing in modulars, trying to set those up, move students into other buildings where there may be space available, take over and reopen old school buildings that had been closed for several years. So it's a lot of really difficult options," said Jason Glass, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education.

The state's top education official said there are ongoing conversations about a special session to help eastern Kentucky, which could lead to additional funding for schools or the possibility of waiving some state requirements like attendance.

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