Schools will be closed to students Wednesday as teachers and staff return to work and prepare after Hurricane Milton.

Hillsborough County schools will stay closed to students on Wednesday but plan to reopen Thursday, the district said late Tuesday morning.

As of Tuesday, district spokesperson Tanya Arja said, 35 schools remained without power. That's down from the more than 100 schools that were inaccessible due to outages, flooding and downed trees over the weekend, but still too many to welcome students Wednesday, as schools in Pasco and Pinellas counties open their doors. But Arja said Tampa Electric Co. has told the district it expects all schools to have power by Wednesday night.

Other hazards on school grounds have been removed, and staff and community volunteers spent Monday clearing debris.

"There could still be some lingering issues" at some schools, Arja said, "but nothing that would pose any safety issues."

The district will extend the first quarter of its calendar to Oct. 25 to adjust for the week and a half of instruction missed in the buildup to and wake of Hurricane Milton. Arja said district officials are still figuring out how to make up for the lost time, which now totals 11 days this year after closures for Milton and Hurricane Helene.

Early-release days through this semester had already been changed to regular hours to compensate for days lost to Helene. Arja said the district is "kind of looking at everything," including adding school days and extending hours. It will not alter Thanksgiving break, she said.

Bus drivers were running their routes Tuesday morning to identify any potential hazards, she said, and some pickup schedules may be delayed later this week if drivers need to use alternate routes. School and district staff will return to work on Wednesday to prepare for students' return. If any schools are still without power come Wednesday morning, principals there will coordinate with staff on a case-by-case basis, she said.