KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — More Kansas districts are closing and warning of potential closure as the COVID-19 outbreak sickens staff.
The Eudora districts pulled the plug on classed Friday because of a lack of substitutes and increased numbers of COVID-19 cases.
“Our current reality is that we simply do not have enough substitutes to appropriately maintain operations,” Superintendent Stu Moeckel wrote.
The Kansas City, Kansas, district also warned parents to start preparing for school closures and said buses would be 15 to 20 minutes late Friday because of staff shortages.
Earlier this week, the Wichita district, which is the state's largest, warned that school closures might be necessary.
The staffing shortages are so severe that the state announced this week that substitute teachers in Kansas will not be required to have college credit hours. The Kansas State Board of Education said the changes will last only until June 1, when the more stringent requirements will return.
On Wednesday, the Bonner Springs and El Dorado school districts announced classes would be cancelled for the rest of the week because of high numbers of staff and student illnesses.
The Rock Creek district in Pottawatomie County said an elementary and middle school were closed Thursday and Friday because of staffing issues. The DeSoto, Eudora and Manhattan-Ogden districts were set to be closed Friday.
In addition, Fairfield USD 310 in Langdon is closed though next week and activities are also canceled due a sharp increase in quarantines and positive COVID cases