Workers with the city of St. 香港三级片 Forestry Division work to clear fallen trees that block an entrance of Hickey Elementary School on Sunday May, 18, 2025. The St. 香港三级片 public school was one of several in the district that were damaged by the Friday, May 16, 2025, tornado.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 School operations across north St. 香港三级片 are still reeling this week after a tornado damaged buildings and caused widespread power outages.
The storm hit Friday afternoon during school hours and spawned a tornado that touched down in Clayton and swept through Forest Park and a wide swath of North City neighborhoods including Fountain Park, Kingsway East and the Ville. At least 15 schools were in the direct path, but all staff and students were unharmed.
Attendance was especially sparse on Monday at the 12 schools that had to be buildings in St. 香港三级片 Public Schools, according to teachers.
Inaccurate information provided by the school district may have contributed to the low attendance. On Sunday, SLPS leaders said bus transportation would not be available due to tornado damage at the First Student depot in the city.
People are also reading…
But at least 75% of buses were running Monday, including alternative routes to the relocated schools. The storm blew out windows in about 20 buses, but there was no structural damage to the depot, which had regained power by Sunday afternoon, according to Jen Biddinger, First Student鈥檚 communications manager.
鈥淲hile we did share concerns yesterday with the district about debris blocking streets and ongoing power outages in some neighborhoods, we did not say that we would not be able to operate,鈥 Biddinger said in a statement Monday. 鈥淥ur team worked tirelessly all weekend to make repairs, ensuring our fleet could operate this morning. We also rerouted buses for the 12 schools that remain without power.鈥
SLPS leaders, including Superintendent Millicent Borishade, did not respond Monday to questions about attendance and transportation. The district鈥檚 last day of school for 2024-25 is Thursday.
Students in Clayton School District are expected to return to class Tuesday after a one-day closure due to lingering power outages and storm debris on campuses and surrounding streets. Captain Elementary and Wydown Middle schools could stay closed another day if power was not restored by 7 p.m. Monday, according to a message from Superintendent Nisha Patel.
In University City, power has been restored to University City High School and neighboring Jackson Park Elementary School, which were closed Monday. Food service teams at the schools spent the day replenishing perishables that spoiled during the outage.
Brentwood High School rescheduled its graduation ceremony to Wednesday. The event was supposed to be held Saturday, but the power was out at the school.
