All Santa Cruz County schools closed through April 10

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) The Santa Cruz County Office of Education announced that all schools in the county will be closed through April 10 as a result of the shelter in place county officials put in place Monday.

Initially, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District was set to reopen on April 3, but the district later decided to stay closed until April 10. The Office of Education said superintendents are working with health officials to decide if schools should reopen on April 13 or if the school closures should be extended.

"The Shelter in Place order allows schools and district offices to remain in operation to provide essential services to students and families. School districts and the County Office of Education will continue to offer essential services including, but not limited to, food service and high-quality educational opportunities to students through distance learning," the Office of Education said in a statement.

Starting March 23, the Office of Education expects that students will participate in distance learning opportunities provided by their district.

Schools will observe breaks in services that are already scheduled during spring break, and at that time, schools will not be offering food services or distance learning. That will happen between March 31 and April 3 at the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and all other districts will observe spring break between April 6 and April 10.

Parents are asked to call or email the school or district before visiting in person if they have questions or need additional services.