The head of Warren County Public Schools is telling employees to be prepared for the possibility of a return to virtual learning.
There’s a large number of students in quarantine and many vacant staff positions across the system.
Warren County School District spokeswoman Lauren Thurmond said the district currently has 1,649 students in quarantine. That's nine-percent of the student population.
The district has 296 active cases of COVID-19, 260 among students, and 36 among employees, according to its online COVID-19 dashboard.
Then there’s the issue of staff shortages. The district has 198 jobs posted,including openings 24 bus drivers, 20 bus monitors and 15 custodians.
In a message to district faculty and staff, Superintendent Rob Clayton said he knows many employees are likely wondering if the district can continue to operate in-person with the recent increase of COVID-19 cases throughout the community.
In district message, WCPS Superintendent Rob Clayton says that -- despite "vocal minority trying to distract from (your) efforts -- district is anticipating a "set of metrics" from state health department to guide decisions around in-person and masking. pic.twitter.com/0G85asNKJf
— Aaron Mudd (@NewsByAaron) August 18, 2021
No official announcement has been made, at the state or local level, concerning a return virtual-only learning.
School Districts Not Required to Post COVID-19 Numbers
Some school districts across Kentucky are reporting COVID-19 data in a variety of ways, while other school systems aren’t making that information available to the public.
The state K-12 COVID-19 dashboard that went live last September for schools to self-report cases is no longer active.
And while school district officials say they’re not required to report either the number of COVID cases among staff or students, or the number in quarantine, some are continuing to put that information on their websites.
Bowling Green city schools is posting active cases among staff and students, as well as numbers in quarantine, on its COVID-19 dashboard.
Warren County Public Schools have an online dashboard with numbers of student and staff cases. But the district is not posting numbers in quarantine, which as of Wednesday was 1,649 students.
The Henderson County school district has an online dashboard with the number of active cases among students and staff.
Two districts that said Wednesday they’re not posting numbers of COVID cases are Owensboro Public Schoolsand Daviess County Public Schools.
A spokesperson for Daviess County schools said the district communicates directly with families if there are positive cases in their child’s school or classroom.
