Dalhart ISD students, staff experience third loss this school year

The Dalhart Independent School District reported another student death Friday as the school year comes to an end.

Dalhart ISD said senior Eric Ruiz died Friday afternoon from unknown reasons after his father found Ruiz unresponsive at home. Ruiz was rushed to the ER at Coon Memorial Hospital, but could not be revived.

"The entire Dalhart community is saddened by this event, and words cannot express the grief we feel about the loss of this young man," Dalhart ISD Superintendent Jeff Byrd said in a news release. "Eric and his family are an important part of the Dalhart school community. His teachers, coaches and fellow students will miss him greatly. We extend our deepest condolences to Eric's family and encourage everyone to provide support to them in their time of painful loss."

This is the third loss the school district has had this year.

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Out of respect for Eric and his family, the district said it will not disclose any further information or make any additional comment: "We appreciate your understanding, and continued support for the family. We encourage everyone to keep Eric and his family in your thoughts and prayers."

More: Support pours in for Dalhart football player who died last week

The district said it had intitially decided they would not have semester tests at the high school next week, since the student body has had to deal with so much tragedy this year and they wanted to take the stress of the exams off of their plates. "However, after speaking with our attorney regarding the legal liability, and fact that some students may be relying on the semester exam(s) to improve their semester averages, we have decided to meet in the middle and allow parents and students to make this decision independently," the district said, making the exams an option available but not required.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Dalhart mourns after senior student dies near semester's end