Influenza has arrived early and often in some school districts in this area, while absences in the Emporia district began to trend down on Monday.
“The flu outbreak continues to accelerate,” Superintendent Greg Markowitz said in a public announcement on Monday. “The schools of Chase County are now approaching 25 percent student absence levels, and those numbers are increasing on an hourly basis.”
District staff are doing what they can to quell the outbreak and working with government agencies to try to prevent flu from spreading further, short of closing school until the outbreak passes, Markowitz said.
“We have been advised that closing schools will not provide long-term relief. ... School closing in USD 284 will be considered only if staff absence rates were to get to the point that academic services are no longer possible and/or school closure is mandated” by a government agency, he said.
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kseyetie (anonymous) says...
Good move, Mr. Superintendent. Keep the schools open if you can.
October 22, 2009 at 11:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )