Bay Area parents have mixed feelings about sending kids back to school

NOVATO, Calif. (KGO) -- Most schools reopened on Friday, but several in the North Bay remained closed. Parents had mixed feelings about that.

In Novato, the decision to remain closed came after school officials spoke with the fire and police departments, but that doesn't mean everyone agreed.

As weather conditions improved Friday morning, many parents in Novato felt schools should have reopened before this weekend.

"It's nice to be able to keep them in school and get educated. Plus with both parents working, it's tough and now you have to find either time off from work or find someone to watch your kids," parent Michael Livingstone said.

Regardless, the Novato School District said the day was spent cleaning debris and drains and cleaning flooded classrooms to ensure that all campuses are safe for students and staff on Monday.

Schools in Petaluma were also closed Friday, after the superintendent consulted with several public agencies.

"Last night there were some roads that were closed in the area, so with that information we knew our buses couldn't run to many parts of the district so we made the determination to close schools today," Superintendent of Petaluma City Schools Steve Bolman said.

ABC7 News spoke to parent Katie Sveinson who said she was glad she didn't have to drive her child to school. She said, "I see it as a time for them to clean up anything that needs to be cleaned up at the schools. She goes to school in Petaluma and it was very flooded."

At Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, crews were still removing soaked carpets from the band and choir room which flooded last week after the drain behind the building clogged up.

The Press Democrat caught some video of a foot of standing water sanding inside the band room.

The district is confident it will not lose any state funding because of this closure.

"A state of emergency is not required for a waiver. We will make the case that it wasn't safe for people to come to school," Bolman said.

Of course other districts will do the same. The waver is granted by the State Department of Education.