Williamstown Elementary Starts Vacation Early Because of Widespread IllnessBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
02:04PM / Wednesday, April 13, 2016 | |
 Williamstown Elementary pupils are getting a long spring break because of a flu outbreak. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health and school officials have decided to close Williamstown Elementary School on Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, in response to a flu outbreak at the school.
Families were informed of the decision on Wednesday at the regularly scheduled 1:30 dismissal. The school will be off limits to all school and non-school activities through Monday to allow the building to be cleaned allow for “any residual spores to die” according to a school-wide email.
Starting Monday, the school saw nearly 100 children and 20 staff members calling in sick.
“We called the Board of Health in earlier in the week and talked to them again today,” Superintendent Doug Dias said on Wednesday afternoon. “We haven’t seen an decrease in either the student absentee rate or the faculty absentee rate.
“Rather than putting people’s safety at risk, the Board of Health recommended closing the school for the next two days, and I completely agree.”
The school already is scheduled to be closed next week for the April vacation. Faculty and students will be returning on Monday, April 25.
A planned Elementary School Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday night was canceled and likely will be made up after the vacation week, Dias said.
The elementary school will be used for next week’s Friends of Milne Public Library used book sale, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23. Volunteers will be able to access the building as scheduled on Tuesday to begin setting up for the sale.
Dias said that despite the number of Williamstown families who have children at both WES and Mount Greylock Regional School, the junior-senior high school has not seen a similar absentee rate.
“In fact, I had my staff call around to other surrounding districts, and it seems to be an isolated outbreak,” he said.
Officials feared that if the school remained open the next two days, members of the school community would continue to pass on the bug.
“The April vacation is coming, but I didn’t want to wait two more days and take a chance some kid would get sick,” Dias said. “I know this is a burden for parents because parents have to find other childcare. But when it comes to safety, the flu can - at worst - be very dangerous.”
This is the third time this year a non-snow event has forced the closure of Williamstown Elementary School. Twice in the fall, the school was closed because issues related to its heating system, leading to the school using four "snow days" in a year without any major snowstorms.
Ironically, all three closures have extended planned school breaks. The first extended the Columbus Day weekend, and the second extended the Thanksgiving break.
The last day of school now is scheduled for Monday, June 20.
For more information on the flu, visit the CDC's website or the state Department of Health website.
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