Snyder ISD facing flu as well as snowy weather

Snyder ISD closed today and Thursday due to both the heavy snow and an outbreak of the flu virus.
“We’ve got lots of staff and students out,” Snyder ISD nurse Chris Bane said. “So we had the double whammy with absences and then with the inclement weather coming in. Although student attendance hovered around 90-91 percent for Monday and Tuesday, that wasn’t the biggest problem that Snyder ISD is facing.
The high school campus, in particular, has struggled to find substitutes to cover for teachers out sick with the flu.
“We had a whole bunch of teachers out. We were close to 20 unfilled sub positions for teachers that were out with the flu,” Superintendent Dr. Eddie Bland said.
He said that some teachers left during the day because of illness, and even after filling all the spots they could, there just weren’t enough substitutes.
A lot of them were sick as well, he said.
Although there is no official district policy on how many students and teachers must be absent for school to be closed, Bland said that the school staff thought that the incoming snowy weather would create a perfect opportunity for those who were ill to rest before coming back to school.
“This is a good time to be out of the buildings and let the virus die off,” he said.
Snyder ISD officials encourage students and teachers to stay home until they are fever- and symptom-free for at least 24 hours and to wash their hands and exposed clothing frequently.