WASKOM, Texas — Waskom ISD is closing all campuses through Monday, Aug. 23, due to the rampant spread of COVID-19.
According to Superintendent Rae Ann Patty, school will resume as normal on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
With nearly 60% of the elementary staff infected and rising cases at all the other schools, Patty said they want to take charge.
"We figured that something like this would happen, I really thought we might have a little more time. And I was hoping that we would be able to get it contained faster," Patty said.
Remote conferencing is an option for the district, but they decided against that, for now, because of how early in the year this outbreak happened.
"If a student gets sick, we want them to have their 20 days if they become ill and need to be out," Patty said.
If this kind of outbreak happens again and a shutdown is needed, they would then use the remote conferencing days available.
"While we know this is an inconvenience for some families, we are trying to stop the spread of COVID on all campuses," Patty said. "We feel this is the option to curb the spread of illness throughout the district, protect our students and staff, and allow us to reopen safely. The safety of our students and staff is our primary concern. We want to keep our people safe. Over the next five days, our campuses will be cleaned thoroughly to ensure a safe environment when our students and staff return on Tuesday. "
Staff will be available on all campuses Monday to take calls should more children develop symptoms.