Heavy rains led to flooding across Orange County and the surrounding area overnight Sunday into Monday.
The storm, the last remnants of Hurricane Florence, prompted Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools to initially announce a two-hour delay before moving to close schools for the day.
But Orange County Schools and Durham Public Schools proceeded with regular schedules on Monday. Videos and photos on social media showed buses from each district attempting to travel in the conditions.
A photo from a Twitter use showed a Durham Sheriff’s Office vehicle on scene as a Durham Public School bus was stuck across a roadway. Multiple outlets are reporting school staff were on the scene and able to get the children off of the bus.
Meanwhile, a video was posted to Twitter showing an Orange County Schools bus driving through high waters on Old NC 10 Monday morning.
https://twitter.com/dianerabalais/status/1041670404199337984
Orange County Schools issued the following statement regarding its decision to hold normal schedule Monday morning:
“Orange County Schools will be dismissing 2 hours early today due to the potential for additional flooding on the roadways later this afternoon All afterschool activities are canceled. Any student that missed school today will have an excused absence. We apologize for any safety issues this may have caused, in addition to the stress and inconvenience.
“When we make decisions to close or delay or open schools, safety is always our top priority. Though we lead with safety, we might not always get the decision correct. Today is one of those days. We tried to make a decision to keep schools open using the best information we had at the time. We got it wrong, and we apologize for that. We are responsible to you, our community, and we will continue to strive to make our school system and its operations as safe as possible.”
Photo via Christoper Jaques
Related Stories
‹
Local Government Meetings: September 28-October 2, 2026This week in local government: Tongde Wu officially takes her oath of office as the newest member of the CHCCS school board.
Local Government Meetings: September 14-18, 2026This week in local government: a greenway network in Chapel Hill, and busing concerns and elementary school redistricting for CHCCS.
![]()
Hurricane Michael Prompts School ClosuresAlert Carolina message on Thursday afternoon that the university would be operating under Condition 1 from 2 p.m. Thursday until 12 a.m. Friday. Classes will operate on a normal schedule but individual faculty members have the option to adjust class schedules.**** Some local schools are closing ahead of a massive storm […]
![]()
Schools, Government Offices Closing Early Due to Inclement WeatherMuch of central North Carolina is under a Winter Weather Advisory until 10 p.m. Monday, March 12, and that has caused some local school districts to alter schedules. Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools will close two hours early with elementary schools dismissing at 12:30 p.m., middle schools at 1:10 p.m. and high schools at […]
![]()
Schools Preparing for Possibility of Inclement WeatherOrange County Schools and Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools have canceled all after-school activities after 5 p.m. on Wednesday ahead of the possibility of inclement weather. Chatham County Schools have joined CHCCS and OCS in canceling all after-school activities for Wednesday. Durham Public Schools are closing one hour early on Wednesday and canceling after-school […]
![]()
Local Organization Studies Gap in NC Public School FundingOn average, Orange County spends almost $5,000 on each student in its school systems. This is over $3,000 more than the average county spends on each student, and over $4,000 more than the poorest, Swain County spends on each student. That’s what the Public School Forum of North Carolina found out in its latest study. “That plays out […]
Early Voting in the 2026 General Election: Where to Go in Orange, Durham, and Chatham CountiesEarly voting for North Carolina's general election is underway through Saturday, October 31. Here is what you need to know to cast your vote.
Local Government Meetings: October 5-9, 2026This week in local government: Orange County Commissioners discuss data centers and property revaluation, while Carrboro talks composting.
Orange and Chatham County School Districts Celebrate Performance Milestones for 2025-26 YearThe Orange County, Chatham County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school districts are celebrating positive performance trends demonstrated in the latest accountability report from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. All 13 Orange County Schools earned a performance grade of “C” or higher for the 2025-26 school year, marking the first time since 2017 that […]
Orange County Sheriff: Student Assaults Staff Members at Partnership AcademyA School Resource Officer from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office detained a student at Hillsborough’s Partnership Academy Tuesday after the student allegedly assaulted two staff members, per a release. The sheriff’s office says the SRO will now coordinate with the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention regarding legal consequences. After the assault, […]
›
