SPRING HILL — Lisa Cropley’s day job is with the school district, as executive director of student support, but on Tuesday, Sept. 27, she was working at Challenger K-8 supporting the effort to protect people from the storm.

The school became a special-needs shelter for Hurricane Ian, but there were more staff people inside than clients, but they expected that to change.

Ashley Thomas of the Florida Department of Health said the shelter has a capacity of 300.

Some people had already showed up, Cropley said, but had to be turned away because they were not “special-needs.” They were directed to Explorer K-8, which is for the general population and is pet-friendly.

Clients at the Challenger shelter would be people who needed dialysis or oxygen, and the shelter had a generator to provide power in case the power went out during the storm.

There were just two people waiting to check in, so Cropley and Challenger principal Rose Marie Maiorini gave a tour of the setup.

“We have a setup in the cafeteria, and in the gym,” she said.

People had been working all night to set up cots in the cafeteria, and the floor of the school’s gym was divided by tape into sections. Each special-needs person could have one family member, but that person would need to bring his or her own bedding, Cropley said.

Toni-Ann Noyes, the principal of Nature Coast High School, had done the dividing in the gym.

Outside the gym and cafeteria, signs were up telling when food would be served, and staff members waited to check in clients.

Though people should be preregistered, Cropley said, “we are taking walk-ins.”

“We have wide experience dealing with public health emergencies and work closely with our state and local partners to coordinate our response efforts,” said Florida Department of Health Health Officer Robin Napier. “We encourage residents to be diligent in finalizing their preparations and to stay informed of local weather updates from official sources. At this time our Special Needs Shelter is fully operational at Challenger K-8 and we have begun to receive Hernando County residents.”