COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — The Coweta County School System will remain closed Tuesday, March 30 as recovery continues following a deadly and destructive tornado that ripped through the community last week.
Superintendent Evan Horton sent a letter Monday saying after receiving guidance from the Coweta County Emergency Management Agency, Coweta schools would not open Tuesday.
Horton said Newnan High School and Atkinson Elementary will also be closed for the remainder of the week.
In addition, he said in the letter that the following schools will be closed through the end of spring break:
- Arnall Middle
- Central Educational Center
- East Coweta High
- Elm Street Elementary
- Evans Middle
- Jefferson Parkway Elementary
- Maggie Brown Alternative
- Newnan Crossing Elementary
- Ruth Hill Elementary
- Smokey Road Middle
- Welch Elementary
- Westside Burwell
- Western Elementary
- Winston Dowdell Academy
- White Oak Elementary
"We are currently planning to reopen these schools [in the list above] on April 12, 2021. We continue to consult with our local Emergency Management partners on the potential reopening of schools in less affected areas of our community later this week," the letter said.
He added that the decision will be contingent on personnel availability, access to transportation facility, and other operation factors.
The district will provide another update Tuesday.
The decision comes after storms - in which a projected EF-4 tornado with winds of up to 170 mph - hit parts of the county. At that rating and estimated wind speed, the tornado ranks among the most powerful to hit Georgia since the 1950s. One person died in the storm.
Photos | EF-4 tornado devastation in Newnan Saturday
