School starts Friday in Coal City but the area is still dealing with the repercussions of a tornado that swept through two months ago, leaving hundreds of students displaced from their homes.
Regardless, Coal City school officials say they'll be ready when the doors open. Kent Bugg, superintendent of Coal City Community Unit School District No. 1, has been working to restore normalcy for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Bugg says the community is lucky because the tornado barely touched the middle school and high school buildings. The Chicago Tribune reports that his biggest concern is coordinating transportation for students who are now scattered across 16 communities, from Morris to Kankakee.
The EF3 tornado with winds of up to 160 mph on June 22 caused $13 million in cleanup costs.
