Carl Junction, Pittsburg schools close this week citing illness, staff shortages

Jan. 21—Carl Junction and Pittsburg school districts are the latest to announce closures this week until in-person instruction resumes Monday as COVID-19 and other illnesses still run rampant in the region.

The Carl Junction School District closed its buildings Thursday and Friday this week in an effort to focus on community health. School is slated to be back in session Monday as the buildings are cleaned and sanitized over the next few days. There will be no virtual learning this week, and the days will not be made up.

"Our staff has worked tirelessly to keep this from happening, but we believe closing school for the rest of the week is in everyone's best interest," the Carl Junction School District announced on its website and Facebook page.

Superintendent Phil Cook said Thursday that the decision was prompted after attendance rates and staff availability dipped below normal. Attendance rates were approximately 90% until late last week, he said.

While several districts closed last week, Carl Junction schools remained open because attendance rates among staff and students were holding steady. However, the numbers quickly dropped as this week progressed, according to Cook.

"Our attendance numbers were a bit below normal last week, but they were still holding their own," he said. "The numbers were holding steady in the mid- to upper 80s all week until Friday, and then they took a real dip to 82%. But the issue was it continued to go down. It wasn't rebounding back up."

The number of COVID-19 cases in the district has continued to rise. There were 35 COVID-19 cases among students and 19 cases among staff at Carl Junction schools as of Wednesday. The week prior, there were 19 cases among students and three cases among staff.

"I visited with the superintendents from the other school districts, and just about every district that closed last week and came back this week, their numbers were better," Cook said. "We're hopeful that by closing for a couple of days we'll stop that downward attendance trend. Of course, there's no way of knowing that, but it can't hurt."

Cook said staff members throughout the district have gone above and beyond to help fill in the shortage gaps caused by the coronavirus and other winter illnesses. He also hopes that this additional downtime will benefit not only those who are sick but also exhausted administration and staff.

"They've sacrificed and filled in where needed," he said. "We had two principals at the high school who were serving lunch Wednesday because they were down 10 out of the 25 cooks in the district. Everybody has been pitching in, doing their part, but they've been stretched to the max. We just need to give everyone a breather and a chance to get healthy, both physically and emotionally."

—Pittsburg USD 250 announced Thursday afternoon that there will be no school Friday due to staff shortages. Students will not be required to participate in learning, and activities will continue as scheduled. The district will also reopen Monday.

"We have been able to keep our doors open Tuesday through Thursday of this week; this was only possible because of our incredible staff working together and with the help of substitutes," the district posted on its Facebook page. "We have reached another point where we are unable to adequately staff our buildings to provide a safe learning environment for students."

—The Joplin School District remains open this week after having to close Jan. 14 due to staff and substitute shortages. That day will be made up May 25.

Superintendent Melinda Moss said in an email to the Globe on Thursday that the district's COVID-19 numbers are "holding steady." There were approximately 11.5% staff and 15% student absenteeism Thursday across the district.

"We are slightly improved today (Thursday)," Moss wrote. "All this week we have been pretty close to last Tuesday's numbers."

She said that the district's numbers peaked Jan. 13 when 15% of staff and 17.5% of students were absent. The Joplin School District has not yet had to transition to virtual learning.

"We feel strongly that the best, most safe place for students who are not sick to be is in school engaged in in-person learning," Moss wrote. "I am so proud of and grateful for our tirelessly committed staff that have taken on extra roles, given up planning time, doubled and tripled up classrooms, driven extra bus routes — whatever it has taken to try to stay open for our students. They deserve every recognition."

The district is using two disinfecting agents nightly and cleaning high-touch areas throughout the school day, according to Moss. The district's COVID-19 plan will be reevaluated by the Joplin Board of Education on Tuesday, she added.

—The Carthage School District also reported steady attendance numbers this week at approximately 88% on Thursday. Classes will be in session Friday.

"We will continue in-person learning as long as possible keeping the safety of children, staff, and community in mind," Superintendent Mark Baker said in an email Thursday. "There is not a magic number or percentage to determine when is too much."

Carthage had switched from in-person to virtual learning Wednesday through Friday last week because of the high number of COVID-19 cases and quarantines among students and staff.

Maintenance has also been spending this week deep cleaning the buildings, and extra cleaning is performed nightly, according to Baker.

He said he was advising parents to keep "children home if they are sick or developing COVID-like symptoms. Although not required, I recommend wearing a mask when in close contact with other people."

—The Neosho School District is reporting steady attendance numbers this week and doesn't plan to close. It had also canceled classes Wednesday through Friday last week when 123 teachers and other employees were absent because of illness.

"This has been a better week for us," Superintendent Jim Cummins wrote in an email to the Globe on Thursday. "Our staff positives have gone from 46 last Tuesday to 26 as of yesterday. Our student numbers have risen from 56 last Tuesday to 124 yesterday. However, our overall student attendance has improved. Last Tuesday, we had 704 absent, this Tuesday 666 and today 655. We know that normal winter illness is also impacting our numbers."

Cummins said the district continues to practice cleaning protocols that they've used throughout the pandemic as a strategy against the coronavirus. He also thanked the staff and parents for their support.

"We appreciate the parent support we have received and their willingness to work with us to keep our schools open to those who are feeling well," Cummins said. "We are also thankful for a staff that is committed to continuing to provide an excellent educational environment for our students. Collectively, we have been able to make NSD successful throughout the pandemic. We know that not only educating students, but keeping them safe and feeding them is an important function we provide to allow our parents to attend their vocation."

Globe efforts to reach Webb City and Pittsburg school officials for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.