Many students in Elizabeth Public Schools system returned to classrooms today after the community was hit hard by Ida, but not all students are able to get back into their classrooms just yet.

School 27 and School 26 will be the only two schools in the district that will return fully remote as they still deal with damages. Two weeks after the storm, water was still being pumped out of School 26 Monday.

The storm caused an estimated $17 million in damage to the district's school buildings.

Pat Politano, a spokesman for the district, gives credit to the maintenance and custodial staff for the nonstop work they've been doing to even let there be an in-person school year for the other 15 schools.

"We feel for these 2,000 children that are going to continue to suffer this hardship, but we're going to try the best that we can," Politano says.

The district says it could be months before schools 26 and 27 are ready to open.