03.15.23 10 p.m. - Final Update - All District Open March 16th

We hope that this update finds you safe.

Power has been restored to Carmel Middle School, therefore, all CUSD schools/sites will be open tomorrow and all bus routes will be operational.

If you are personally experiencing hardship and are unable to travel to work or school due to your residence being impacted by the storm, we ask that you make the safest decisions for you and your family and reach out to your school site to notify them if there will be absences. Student absences are always excused for this situation.

Closing a school, or our district, is an incredibly difficult decision and is made only when students and staff are unable to safely attend. Please note that we are working with the California Department of Education to accurately account for the several days of instruction our students have missed this year. We are also working alongside our staff members to adjust curriculum pacing so that students are receiving a full year’s worth of instruction. 

This is anticipated to be our final weather update for this storm system.

Thank you and please stay safe.

03.15.23 5 p.m. Update

We hope that this update finds you safe. We are continuing to work with county partners, and monitor and assess current storm damage.

This evening we have the following information:

• Power has not yet been restored to Carmel Middle School. Expected restoration time from PG&E is currently approximately 10 p.m. tonight.

• Power has ​been restored to Carmel High School. 

• Roads to Captain Cooper have opened and the roads and site have been assessed for safety

Therefore, at this time, we know:

• Captain Cooper will be open tomorrow, Thursday, March 16th

• Carmel High will be open tomorrow, Thursday, March 16th

We will provide an update at approximately 10 p.m. and/or 5 a.m. on the status of Carmel Middle.

All other CUSD schools/sites will be open tomorrow and all bus routes will be operational.

If you are personally experiencing hardship and are unable to travel to work or school due to your residence being impacted by the storm, we ask that you make the safest decisions for you and your family and reach out to your school site to notify them if there will be absences. Student absences are always excused for this situation.

Thank you and please stay safe.

03.15.23 5 a.m. Update - No change:

We hope that this update finds you safe. We are continuing to work with county partners, and monitor and assess current storm damage. There have been no changes since last night’s 10 p.m. update.

At this time:

• Carmel Middle School and Carmel High School are still without power

• Additional road closures are impacting travel to and from several sites, especially for our staff members

• All CUSD sites (except Captain Cooper due to prior road closures) have been visually assessed for safety

We know how critical it is to ensure our schools are open for students. The following schools/sites will be open today, Wednesday, March 15th:

• Carmelo Child Development Center

• River Elementary/River Rec

• Tularcitos Elementary/T-Rex

• Carmel Valley High

• District Office/Logan Hall

Due to staffing shortages, and our tiered-busing system, we will run all bus routes to the above sites, with the exception of Routes G & I. Routes G & I will not be operational today.

Due to currently having no power and/or no safety assessment, the following schools will be closed today, Wednesday, March 15th:

• Captain Cooper Elementary

• Carmel Middle School

• Carmel High School

Without power, our school sites do not have working fire alarms and phone systems in order for them to safely host their students. They also do not have lights in classrooms, common spaces or bathrooms, or heating without power. 

We know that having partial closures is uncommon and may cause additional concerns for our families. However, we want to be able to offer as normal an experience as possible for as many of our students and families as safely possible. Again, students' absences will be excused if any hardships have occurred and attending school tomorrow is not feasible for your family.

We do anticipate after school activities may be affected, and your site/activity will communicate specifically with participants. 

Please know that if you are impacted by the storm (power outages, home damage, road closures, evacuation, etc) as a staff member, please be reminded of the MOU re: Emergency Leaves. You can find links to the MOU on our district website.

Thank you and please stay safe.

03.14.23 10 p.m. Update:

We hope that this update finds you safe. We are continuing to work with county partners, and monitor and assess current storm damage.

At this time:

• Carmel Middle School and Carmel High School are without power

• Additional road closures are impacting travel to and from several sites, especially for our staff members

• All CUSD sites (except Captain Cooper due to prior road closures) have been visually assessed for safety

We know how critical it is to ensure our schools are open for students. We anticipate the following schools/sites will be open tomorrow, Wednesday, March 15th:

• Carmelo Child Development Center

• River Elementary/River Rec

• Tularcitos Elementary/T-Rex

• Carmel Valley High

• District Office/Logan Hall

Due to staffing shortages, and our tiered-busing system, we expect to run all bus routes to the above four sites, with the exception of Routes G & I. Routes G & I will not be operational for tomorrow.

Due to currently having no power and/or no safety assessment, we anticipate the following schools will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, March 15th:

• Captain Cooper Elementary

• Carmel Middle School

• Carmel High School

Without power, our school sites do not have working fire alarms and phone systems in order for them to safely host their students. They also would not have lights in classrooms, common spaces or bathrooms, or heating without power. 

If conditions change, and we are able to open more school sites, we will communicate again tomorrow morning in a 5 a.m. update. We know that a 5 a.m. update is not ideal, but we want to give PG&E and CalTrans the most time possible to get our schools and roads safe and operational.

We know that having partial closures is uncommon and may cause additional concerns for our families. However, we want to be able to offer as normal an experience as possible for as many of our students and families as safely possible. Again, students' absences will be excused if any hardships have occurred and attending school tomorrow is not feasible for your family.

We do anticipate after school activities may be affected, and your site/activity will communicate specifically with participants tomorrow. 

Please know that if you are impacted by the storm (power outages, home damage, road closures, evacuation, etc) as a staff member, please be reminded of the MOU re: Emergency Leaves. You can find links to the MOU on our district website.

Thank you and please stay safe.

03.14.23 5 p.m. Update:

We hope that this update finds you safe this afternoon. We are continuing to monitor and assess current storm damage. At this time, we currently have two sites without power, road closures are impacting travel to and from several sites, and we are monitoring the safety of school sites, and staff absences. Although we earnestly want to, and anticipate being able to, open most schools tomorrow, we are still in the assessing phase and will provide an update at 10 p.m. 

Thank you and please stay safe.

03.13.23 10 p.m. Update:

Dear CUSD Staff, Students and Families, 

As we shared earlier, the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services has continued to provide updates on the status of the incoming storm system. The event is predicted to be much more impactful than Friday’s storm, and is anticipated to include severely damaging winds and widespread power outages overnight, through tomorrow and into Wednesday.

At this point, we worry about getting students and staff to and from school safely, and keeping them safe while they are here. There are predictions of dangerous winds and the National Weather Service has stated that individuals should refrain from being outdoors, especially in forested areas during these wind advisories. Additionally, with the high winds expected it may not be safe to have our buses on the road with the sustained winds or extreme wind gusts. 

We are also extremely concerned about students beginning school and then our buildings losing power or our county having road closures, wherein students and staff would be unable to either safely remain on campus or return home. Forecasters have recommended all travelers to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. Finally, we are concerned about having adequate staffing at all sites due to the weather, which is a safety concern.

In an abundance of caution, we must make an informed decision in the best interest of student and staff safety. The timing of the storm is not predicted to change before the start of school, so the difficult decision is being made now - CUSD will have an all district closure tomorrow, Tuesday, March 14th.

We understand that canceling school creates hardships for families and we apologize for this, however, based on current forecasting we are not confident that we will have sustained power throughout the day tomorrow and we cannot guarantee that all roads will be safe, nor open, throughout the day.

For more information on this storm, please visit the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services page here.

Thank you and please stay safe. 

03.13.23 5 p.m. Update:

The Monterey County Office of Emergency Services has continued to provide updates on the status of the current storm system. It is anticipated that the next atmospheric river is expected to hit our region this evening, with the full brunt hitting us in the early hours of tomorrow morning. This event is predicted to include significant winds. A high wind warning has been issued starting tonight through tomorrow. They are also expecting power outages to occur - especially on the peninsula - through the night and into the morning. Several road closures have impacted local travel and all are encouraged to adhere to road closure signs.

Between now and 10 p.m. tonight, we are surveying our staff members to see who is able to safely travel to and from their work site tomorrow.

At this time, we are monitoring the weather forecast, road conditions, power outages, and staff absences and will provide a 10 p.m. and/or 5 a.m. update. If the weather is as impactful as it is predicted to be, we may be unable to safely open schools.

Thank you and please stay safe. 

03.12.23 10 p.m. Update:

Dear CUSD Staff, Students and Families, 

This 10 p.m. update is an important message as we have just learned from the Monterey County Office of Education and Monterey County Office of Emergency Services that weather conditions and accompanying impacts have expanded beyond the Highway 1 closure between Salinas Road and Highway 129 (Riverside Drive) that we referenced earlier today in our 5 p.m. update.

We understand that the Salinas River is rising and may have an impact on roadways. The county has just released information in English and Spanish stating: “The forecasted impacts on the Salinas River have evolved over the last 24 hours. The projections now include a probable inundation of roadways between the Monterey Peninsula and the rest of the County to include the city of Salinas through Blanco Road and Highway 68. Impacts are being determined. Please plan for the potential cut off to these areas.” At this time, the Peninsula is effectively surrounded by Mandatory Evacuation zones and, therefore, many of our staff may not be able to travel to work. 

We know how critical it is to ensure our schools remain open for students. Although we understand many areas of Carmel have power and are not seeing flooding, our surrounding communities are heavily impacted with flooding, power outages and mandatory evacuation zones, which directly impacts staff who are providing services to our students. We do still anticipate all CUSD schools will be open Monday, March 13, 2023. All CUSD schools have power at this time. We do anticipate after school activities being affected by the weather, and we will communicate more information midday tomorrow.

However, as we are anticipating some of our staff members may be unable to travel to and from work, it may lead to additional bus routes being canceled or other impacts. At this time we are aware that Bus Routes G and I will be canceled tomorrow, Monday March 13th.

We will communicate again tomorrow morning in a 5 a.m. update, if conditions change.

We ask that all staff members please adhere to any and all county orders, and we are directing staff to not cross any mandatory evacuation areas to come to work. Please also be reminded of the MOU re: Emergency Leaves. You can find links to the MOU on our district website.

Thank you and please stay safe. 

03.12.23 5 p.m. Update:

Dear CUSD Staff, Students and Families, 

Due to a more favorable weather forecast for tomorrow and power returned to all sites and offices, we will be reopening the District tomorrow, Monday, March 13th. All previously scheduled extracurriculars (sports practices and games, as well as clubs and activities) are expected to resume as scheduled, pending any changes from opponents. 

As additional storm systems are expected in the coming week, we will continue to provide updates, as needed, as we work with our county partners to assess the safety of the road and facility conditions in the area.

As you may have heard, Highway 1 is closed in both directions between Salinas Road and Highway 129 (Riverside Drive). There is no ETA on when this roadway will reopen. There are alternate routes available as indicated in a KSBW news report. Please plan accordingly to account for extra travel time. If you are a staff member severely impacted by this situation and are not able to be at work on Monday, March 13, please be reminded of the MOU re: Emergency Leaves. You can find links to the MOU on our district website.

For resources and information related to these weather events, please visit the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services webpage here.

Thank you and please stay safe.

03.10.23 5 a.m. Update:

Dear CUSD Staff, Students and Families, 

Due to the current storm system which has resulted in the majority of our sites having no power (power is not expected to return until later this evening), dangerous road conditions with downed trees, and increasing rain and wind throughout the morning and day, all CUSD sites will be closed today for a district closure. Essential employees will be contacted if/when needed on site to assess and support our facilities.

Be on the lookout for more information from your schools on rescheduled events, including the Elementary Conferences, which are also canceled. 

For the safety of everyone, all extracurriculars (sports practices and games, as well as clubs and activities) are canceled for today as well. Additional updates about this weekend’s activities will be provided in an additional update. We will continue to work with our county partners to assess the safety of the road and facility conditions in the area.

For resources and information related to these rainy weather events, please visit the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services webpage here.

Thank you and please stay safe.

Weather Emergencies

In the event of significant weather, the Superintendent, in coordination with staff, will make decisions on school and district closures. There may be levels of closure - individual schools, all schools or all district.  

In order to acknowledge the need for families (staff included) to make alternate arrangements, we will always message out as early as possible. However, the weather changes quickly and forecasts are not always accurate, so we want to wait until we are sure the weather is significant before messaging out. 

We will make decisions the day before around 4 p.m., in time to notify by 5:00. p..m., around 9 p.m. to notify by 10 p.m., and around 4 a.m., to notify at 5 a.m. the day of. Decisions could progress as time warrants. An example would be the decision to go hybrid at 5:00 p.m. but at 4:00 a.m. conditions have deteriorated and we could change to closed. We are hopeful that this cadence will help families and employees make better preparations.

To help inform these difficult decisions, the Superintendent will communicate with other local education leaders and local emergency services agencies.

Power Outages

In the event that a power outage impacts the regular phone number, you may use these alternate lines for urgent calls. Please restrict your use of these numbers to urgent messages only, as there is only a single line for each school.

Adult School – 624-8747

Apple Pie – 667-2921

Cachagua – 659-5209

Carmel – 625-1351

Carmel High School – 626-4313

Carmel Middle School – 624-0839

Cooper – 667-2452

Carmel Valley High School – 624-4487

District Office – 622-9958

River School – 624-6633

Tularcitos – 659-1049