MSCS Keeps Nearly 20 Schools Closed Tuesday as Storm Outages Fall From 50 to 9

Q: With hospitals prioritized for power, how many days will thousands of Memphis students remain sidelined by the grid collapse?

Likely two to four days, with many students back sooner and a smaller group potentially out until about Thursday. MLGW has said hospitals, water treatment and sewer facilities are being restored ahead of schools, and the utility is calling this a multi-day recovery after one of its worst recent storms. Its standing estimate is that the vast majority of customers will be restored by Thursday evening, several days after Saturday night’s damage. For students, the disruption is uneven. Memphis-Shelby County Schools canceled districtwide classes Monday because outages, debris, traffic lights, bus routes and food service all posed operational problems. Superintendent Roderick Richmond said about 20,000 students were affected at the outage-hit schools. By Monday, conditions had improved enough for most campuses to reopen, but nearly 20 schools were still set to remain closed because they lacked power. MLGW CEO Doug McGowen said school outages had dropped from more than 50 initially to nine by Monday, with about half of those expected to be restored overnight. That suggests many affected students could miss only Monday or Tuesday, while those tied to the hardest-hit areas, especially Hickory Hill, could remain sidelined longer. So the best current estimate is that thousands of students will lose at least one to two school days, and some may be out through midweek, depending on whether power returns by the utility’s broader Thursday target.

3 articles · Updated · Action News 5 · Aug 24

Nearly 20 Memphis-Shelby County Schools will stay closed Tuesday because power is still out after Saturday’s storms, while all other district schools reopen on normal schedules.
More than 50 schools initially lost power; MLGW CEO Doug McGowen said that count had dropped to 9 by Monday and could fall to a handful overnight.
25,000 students ride district buses, and Superintendent Roderick Richmond said debris, dark traffic lights and food supply concerns helped drive Monday’s district-wide closure, with about 20,000 students affected at roughly 40 schools.
Thousands of residents still lacked electricity Monday, especially in Hickory Hill, where MLGW set up its emergency information center to provide restoration updates, water, snacks and charging stations.
McGowen said full restoration for every customer will still take a few days, underscoring that the school disruptions remain part of a broader storm recovery across Memphis.