As cold and flu season sweeps across the nation, its impact on Scurry County students has resulted in the closure of two local schools this week.
Snyder Christian School closed Wednesday and will remain closed for the rest of the week.
“This allows time for teachers and students to get some rest and recover,” Snyder Christian School Board President Jason West said.
An estimated 10 students were absent Tuesday, which would be about 25 percent of the student body.
West said that while students and teachers recover at home, the Christian school will be cleaned and disinfected to help prevent the recurring spread of illness.
Hermleigh ISD also announced Wednesday that the school would be closed for the remainder of the week due to a flu and strep throat epidemic among students. Of the 253 students in the school district, 67 students were absent Wednesday, which makes up nearly 27 percent of the student body.
“We generally start thinking about closing at around 15 percent of student absences, but 20 percent absent is where we draw the line,” Superintendent Brent Dawson said. “Every decision we make is for the safety of the students.”
The cold and flu season hit Hermleigh hard this semester as the school district also had to close Jan. 25-26 due to illness-related absences. During that time, the district performed a full-scale wipe down and spraying of the school to help prevent the spread of the flu.
Students returned to school Jan. 29 with only nine students absent, but Dawson said the illness-related absences have steadily climbed over the last 10 days.
While the school remains closed today and Friday, GermBlast, an environment disinfection company, will perform a professional cleaning and disinfecting of the school.
In the meantime, Hermleigh ISD has informed parents about steps they can take to keep their students healthy.
“The school nurse sent information home to parents about what they can do,” Dawson said. “Anything that has been to the school, such as backpacks, nap mats, jackets, needs to be washed and disinfected. Parents need to be sensitive about symptoms. If a kid is healthy, then parents need to try to keep them away from anyone who might be sick.”
The Scurry County Health Unit still has flu vaccines available for the public. The cost is $10 per vaccine.
Hermleigh ISD advised parents to keep their student home for at least 24 hours if the student is running fever or exhibiting any other symptoms of being sick. If a student is running fever and is sent home from school, they will not be allowed to return for a full 24 hours.
Hermleigh ISD and Snyder Christian School will reopen Monday.
Other schools in the county have been less affected by the widespread illnesses.
Snyder ISD was at 91.49 percent attendance Wednesday, according to Snyder ISD PEIMS Coordinator Brooke Barton.
While the school district has seen attendance rise and fall in recent weeks, Barton said it has not dropped low enough for the district to close.
According to Barton, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) regulates that attendance must be 10 percent below the average daily attendance from the previous year before the district can close. Snyder ISD’s average daily attendance for the 2016-17 school year was 94.6 percent.
At Ira ISD, faculty and staff have been taking preventative measures to keep from closing.
“We’ve been spraying the building at least three times per week and wiping down surfaces,” Ira Principal Dale Jones said.
Only 10 students of the 263 students were absent Wednesday. To keep this number low, Ira ISD has advised parents to keep sick students home, which will help prevent spreading any illness.
“If a student is showing symptoms of being sick, parents need to keep them home until the symptoms are gone,” Jones said.