Lee County Primary School closes for a week due to COVID-19

Alan Mauldin Author email, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·2 min read

Aug. 18—LEESBURG — The Lee County School System is shifting 700 elementary school students to virtual learning beginning Thursday due to a shortage of staff and substitute teachers during the latest COVID-19 surge.

Lee County Primary School will be closed to students through Aug. 27, the school system said in a letter sent to parents on Wednesday. Students in grades K-3 attend the school.

"We are trying to have school," Schools Superintendent Jason Miller said during a Wednesday telephone interview. "We are doing everything we can to do that and keep people safe."

While Miller said he understands the hardship for parents whose schedules will be affected, he said protecting staff and students was the driving factor for the school closure. Students also need to attend classes in person, and virtual learning is more challenging the younger the age of a child.

"We just reached the point, because of the staff shortage, (where) we think that is the best course of action," he said. "We'll do our best to keep schools going, and more importantly, to keep kids safe."

The school system already had been dealing with a shortage of substitute teachers, and with additional staff members impacted, system officials thought the action was appropriate, Miller said.

He did not have a number for staff who were ill on Wednesday.

"At this time, LCPS is the only school impacted as leaders continue to monitor numbers across the district," the system said in the letter to parents.

The primary school students who will be learning at home over the next week received instruction packets, and teachers will reach out during the week to check on students. Miller said that parents can keep abreast of information by staying in touch with their children's school.

In its most recent COVID report released online on Friday, the school system reported a total of 74 positive COVID-19 cases for students and staff who had been on campus during the week.

There were an additional 30 cases reported that included those who tested positive but were not on a campus that week or who had close contact with someone who tested positive.

Some 839 staff and students in the system had been quarantined due to exposure, the report said.