All Bernards Schools to Open Monday With 2-hour Delay

All Bernards Township schools will be open on Monday with a two-hour delayed opening, according to the township website and Board of Education member Robin McKeon.

All students will be in their regular schools, McKeon said. She said power had been restored at the Oak Street Elementary School and at the which had been the two schools left without power as the weekend began.

Ridge High School and the William Annin Middle School will be open at 10 a.m., and the four elementary schools will be open at 11 a.m., the township website said. No lunches will be served at any of the schools; students are encouraged to bring a snack.

Students are advised to add two hours onto their normal bus pick up times. For example, if regular pickup is at 6:45 a.m., on Monday it will be 8:45 a.m., the website said.

Other things to know:

• There will be no before care.

• Morning preschool is canceled.

• Morning bus pick up times for afternoon preschool and for full day preschool are also delayed 2-hours.
• Due to road closures or other obstructions, school buses will not be able to service all stops. A list of roads that school buses cannot service is posted below. The list may not be comprehensive; if you don't believe a school bus can access your stop, you may need to drive your child to school.

Problematic roads identified by the school district:

• Hardscrabble Road, closed
• Childs Road, closed
• Spencer Road, closed
• Douglas Road, closed
• Maple Avenue by Collyer Lane is closed
• Hunter past Mountain Road, closed
• Somerville Road past Allen Road, closed
• Homestead Road, closed
• Whitenack and Mine Brook roads to Emily Road, closed
• Forest Trail and Winding is not passable
• Linden Drive, closed
• Darren Road, wire hanging down from house no. 93
• 50 Valley View Drive, low wires
• Spring Valley and Common Wealth, branches hanging low
• Fawn Lane and Deer Ridge, wires down, not passable

Because of timing, the list may not reconcile exactly with the road closure list posted on the Bernards Township website, according to school officials. Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian had said on Friday that parents should drive — and carpool where possible — if students live on roads not passable for school buses.

School officials had been considering holding split sessions if the two remaining schools were still without Monday. Markarian said on Friday that the intent was to go back to a regular schedule following the two-hour delayed schedule on the first day back after a two-week closure in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Board of Education meeting on Monday

There is a Board of Education meeting at 7 p.m. in the William Annin Middle School auditorium, where the agenda from the canceled Oct. 29 meeting will be covered, according to school officials.