LISBON – Down the street from the Lisbon Community School, crews worked on a utility pole snapped in two from Tropical Storm Irene’s wind.

The top half of the utility pole dangled from wires behind yellow tape that closed part of Mill Street. Some buses had to find different routes to school Monday.

“But all of our kids got here in a timely fashion,” Principal Carlene Iverson said.

Despite Irene, the first day of school went as planned for Lisbon, Lewiston and Auburn. Outlying schools, including Leeds, Turner and Greene schools, did not open as scheduled.

“I am very glad to have them back,” Iverson said of her 639 students in grade prekindergarten to grace five. “It’s a very boring place without children.”

Lisbon held a kindergarten orientation Friday where students toured the cafeteria, met teachers and took a bus ride. “It lowers their anxiety so when the big yellow bus came this morning, it was not as traumatic,” Iverson said.

Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster started his morning at 4 getting road reports and talking to Auburn Superintendent Katy Grondin about opening or closing school.

All of Lewiston’s schools had electricity. There were trees and limbs down on some roads, but conditions were safe to allow school to start, Webster said.

From 5 to 7 a.m. Webster said he answered about 100 calls from parents in homes without power. They asked was there school, or what bus their child should be on.

He then visited schools. “I’ve been to all the schools,” he said. “The teaching staff and students were all smiles. They were happy to be there. It was a very good first day.”

In Auburn, Grondin also toured schools, reporting that the first day went smoothly.

“You wouldn’t know there was a storm,” she said. “Kudos to our maintenance staff. All staff members pulled together opening our schools. Students were smiling and focused,” Grondin said. “It was nice. It definitely helped we had blue skies.”

In Mechanic Falls, Poland and Minot, schools open for grades K-9 on Wednesday, Aug. 31, and grades 10-12 on Thursday, Sept. 1.

In Sabattus, Litchfield and Wales, the first day of school did not happen on Monday.

The problem was no power, Oak Hill High School Principal Pat Doyle said. There was no power at the high school, she said.

“We hate to call off school, because soon we know there’ll be snow,” Doyle said. If conditions allow, the first day of school will be Tuesday, she said.

In Turner, the new RSU 52 Superintendent Henry Aliberti also had to cancel school.

Many roads were closed with downed limbs and trees. “And we had two schools, Greene Central and Leeds Central, without power,” Aliberti said. Closed roads and no power meant no school, Aliberti said.

The first day of school will be Tuesday for grades K-7 and nine, with eighth-graders and grades 10-12 starting school Wednesday.

Aliberti said he’s worked in education since 1973. He’s never heard of school being canceled on the first day.

“It’s unusual,” he said.

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