Bloomer school district cancels some classes Tuesday, cites staffing shortage

Jan. 18—The Bloomer school district cancelled classes Tuesday at Bloomer Middle School and Bloomer Elementary School. In a Facebook post the district said it had "significant staffing shortages."

Bloomer High School did hold classes Tuesday.

As of Thursday, the Bloomer school district said there were 133 students and staffers either in quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19, an increase of 76 since the week before, according to the district's COVID dashboard. The district expected 61 students and staff to remain in isolation this week. Five students and staff had active cases of COVID-19 as of last week.

The pandemic has plagued local school districts' plans to remain open in-person at certain points. The Eau Claire district this month cautioned that future staffing shortages could mean schools would have to temporarily hold classes virtually; the Menomonie school district had to cancel classes for one day in November 2021 due to COVID-19 cases.

Substitute staff shortages have become harder to find for school districts across Wisconsin for years, and that demand has heightened during the pandemic. Local school districts have raised wages for substitute teachers and staff; the Eau Claire school district has also offered a financial incentive for retired teachers to return to classrooms as substitutes.

The Chippewa Herald staff contributed to this report.