Update, 3:57 p.m.

The school district emailed the following notice on Thursday afternoon to announce the return of power:

The Bedford Central School District will be open for the start of school on Tuesday, September 6! 

As of Wednesday evening, August 31, electrical power and internet connections have been restored to all school buildings.   The campus transportation facility is the only district building without electricity at this time but we are confident that the issue will be resolved and all buses will be ready to pick up students on Tuesday. 

After assessing the conditions of the storm across the district, we made decisions based on the priorities of safety, common sense, the opening of school smoothly, and then all other business and work. 

To avoid a last minute notice of a possible delay of the opening of school, parents were notified of the possibility that teachers and schools might not have access to all necessary emergency and student information and that electricity or emergency communications might not be fully functioning.  

The district’s facilities, technology, and business offices worked diligently behind the scenes to insure safe conditions prevailed, back-up strategies to access emergency information were established, and essential district business was carried out. 

We are aware that hundreds of students and families are still without electricity and that this is a very stressful situation for everyone.  We hope getting back to the routine of school will be beneficial for all and we look forward to the start of the school year. 

Board of Education President Susan Wollin, Assemblyman Robert Castelli, Senator Greg Ball, Legislator Peter Harckham, and all of our town and village leaders provided critical communications with each other, the electric companies, and other state officials to expedite the return of all essential systems.

Original Story:

Schools will open next Tuesday afterall in the Bedford Central School District, as power was restored to buildings affected by remnants of Hurricane Irene.

Superintendent Jere Hochman announced, in an email Thursday morning, that power was restored to the Fox Lane campus and West Patent Elementary School as of Wednesday night.

In a public message to the community, Hochman praised district staff, first responders and elected officials for their work in the aftermath of the storm.

Because power was out for so long – it prevented the district from using its phones, records and online access – a postponement of the school year’s start by a day was considered as a possible response.

Hochman is relieved, in his message, to see school coming back in session.

“September 6 cannot get here soon enough!” he wrote.