Arnold High School to serve as long-term Red Cross shelter for those displaced by Hurricane Michael

[admin]

PANAMA CITY BEACH — With more than 800 residents still displaced and living in Red Cross shelters after Hurricane Michael and that number expected to grow, Bay District Schools is offering Arnold High School as the long-term shelter.

The move will consolidate the shelters currently set up at Surfside Middle School, Deane Bozeman School and Breakfast Point Academy. Arnold students will operate on a shared campus with Surfside Middle School, with high school students attending class from 7 a.m. to noon and middle school students attending class from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. — the same arrangement as middle and high schools on the east side of the Hathaway Bridge.

Bay District Schools is offering Arnold as a shelter to the Red Cross until Dec. 31, but operations may cease prior to that date if the organization can find long-term solutions for those sheltering there.

Arnold teachers are asked to begin collecting their personal items out of their rooms on Monday, with shelter operations beginning to move in to the building by Monday afternoon.

The move comes as the Red Cross has tried, and failed to find other options in the county, as all of the vacant big box stores have been damaged and are unsuitable, according to the district. The Red Cross also expects the number of residents displaced to increase as tenants are evicted from condemned apartment buildings.

FEMA has guaranteed Arnold will get full facility back no later than January 1st, according to the release. The voluntary pre-kindergarten, also known as VPK, will still be operational and Arnold will retain full use of the gym building and athletic facilities throughout the duration of the shelter operation.