Maine’s school bus purchase program offering subsidies opened as the calendar flipped to November, but some school buses already on the road were still unable to reach students following a severe nor’easter storm.
Dozens of local school districts canceled school this week due to heavy wind and rains that began Sunday and continued Monday. The storm affected roads and left thousands of residents without power, prompting Maine Gov. Paul LePage to declare a state of emergency.
The Maine Emergency Management Agency said half of all state residents were left without electricity.
The Maine Department of Education added that the state of emergency was aimed at providing utility work crews with relief from federal highway regulations so they could work on restoring power. But the state of emergency didn’t trigger automatic school storm days, the agency added.
Still, school districts across the state were still affected by power outages or impassable roads, which left some students unable to get to school. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Maine Emergency Management Agency indicated there about 34 school districts closed, 12 partial closures and one higher education campus closed, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office said.
Meanwhile, emergency managers said favorable weather conditions the rest of this week bring flood levels down and speed the removal of debris that is affecting road access. MEMA added that it is urging caution in debris removal especially if downed power lines are in the area.
