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Parents call for school shutdown
Gladys Webb speaks during the school board meeting as parents urge schools to close because of the H1N1 virus concerns on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, at the Cabell County Board of Education.
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HUNTINGTON — More than two dozen parents scolded Superintendent William Smith and the members of the Cabell County Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday, demanding that schools be closed in response to the H1N1 flu death of a Cabell Midland High School student.
About a dozen actually spoke, and most were argumentative and yelling to the point of crying out of fear that their child will be next. Some, like Opal Sanders, told the board schools should be closed until students could get vaccinated. And she was among a handful who threatened to homeschool their children if they had to.
“I am going to take my kids out and teach them at home,” Sanders said. “I’m telling you, these kids are scared. The best thing I can do is take my child out until this thing blows over.”
The number of parents who are concerned is many times greater than those at the meeting, evidenced by the amount of absences at schools throughout the county Monday and Tuesday.
The spike is a result of the death of 14-year-old Patrick M. Wheeler II, who died of the H1N1 flu Saturday.
At Cabell Midland, where Wheeler was a freshman, the absenteeism jumped from 10 percent Friday, Oct. 2, to 28 percent and 38 percent Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
That amounted to 519 on Monday and 723 Tuesday, according to numbers provided by communications director Jedd Flowers. Total county absences were nearly 2,900 Tuesday.
Cabell Midland Principal David Tackett said the number of absences has caused an academic disruption at the high school.
“Students who are missing school are missing important work, but we are sure that the pace has slowed down a little for Monday and Tuesday,” Tackett said in an e-mail.
In previous years, high rates of absences have been seen during the regular flu season, snow days or when a major school disruption, like the death of a student or teacher, occurs, Tackett said.
Tackett said the school is certainly grieving the loss of Wheeler, but the nature of his death is causing parents to keep healthy kids at home.
“We believe more healthy kids are being kept at home than those that are sick,” he said. “We have come to this conclusion because we have dealt with widespread flu outbreaks in the past and have not seen the number of absences that we are realizing (Tuesday).”
Tackett said he understands the concern of parents, but they should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.
“Keeping them home only if they have a temperature is what is recommended,” he said. “Students who are home and are not sick should be here to ensure that they have the instruction and materials they need to master the Content Standards and Objectives.”
Cabell County’s public schools are closed Wednesday for staff development. That day also will serve as a major sanitizing effort at Cabell Midland and other schools.
Tackett said the custodial staff will clean the entire school with hospital-grade disinfectant starting at 7 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through the night until completed.
“We are going to sanitize all of the surfaces students normally touch, like lockers, locker rooms, desks, door handles, pencil sharpeners, water fountains and any other relevant surfaces,” he said.
Tackett said administrators will be closely monitoring classes Thursday to ensure teachers are back on track with the state standards.
Parents, at least those at the board meeting, said learning the curriculum isn’t the most important thing right now. Angela Clay, who has children at Enslow Middle School, said the death of one student should be enough to put health ahead of studies.
“You say you are committed to every student, but you weren’t committed to the one who died,” Clay said. “It’s pathetic. It’s sad. All you care about is 180 days and a paycheck.”
Superintendent William Smith assured the parents and community that overall enrollment, not daily attendance, dictates how much money the state provides. What the decision to close schools does hinge on is a recommendation from the Cabell Huntington Health Department and its director, Dr. Harry Tweel.
Smith tried to address many of the public’s concerns with a phone message that went out to parents at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. He read through it at the meeting and reiterated that Tweel has told him that the school would have to shut down for five days to stop the virus.
“Our schools need to remain open for the good of our children and community unless the health department determines that there is a public health reason to close them,” the message states. “We are working closely with Dr. Tweel and his staff to monitor attendance and illness conditions in all school communities.”
According to county data, each school had at least 10 percent of students absent Tuesday, with the high schools both eclipsing 30 percent.
Cabell County isn’t the only school system dealing with sick kids and higher absenteeism, though. In Mercer County, health officials are investigating 213 cases of flu-like symptoms, including some in area schools.
West Virginia University in Morgantown has seen 460 cases of flu-like symptoms, school spokesman John Bolt said.
Marshall University has no identified cases of H1N1, though there are some people with flu-like symptoms, said Bill Bissett, the university’s chief of staff and senior vice president for communications.
Bissett said students with flu-like symptoms are being asked to isolate themselves and take the same precautions as anyone with H1N1.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely. At this time, there are no identified cases, but we do have some folks with flu-like symptoms that could be H1N1,” he said.
He said no significant absences were seen at Marshall as of Tuesday.
Bissett said people should also remember that anyone in high-risk categories, such as people who are immuno-compromised or have bronchitis or asthma, are at greater risk of harm.
Health and education officials said rumors of deaths were rampant on Tuesday.
“As of now, there’s nothing new we have going on,” said Elizabeth Ayers, public information officer for the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, on Tuesday morning.
Ayers said no other H1N1 deaths have occurred in Cabell County. When someone with flu-like symptoms dies in the hospital, the health department knows almost instantly, she said.
“We’re trying to do rumor control. Our regular epidemiologist here is in contact constantly with the hospitals. They check in with each other every couple of hours,” Ayers said.
In Wood County schools, absenteeism is slightly up after several students were diagnosed with H1N1 and Type A influenza, said Teresa Bayer, health services coordinator for the school system. School officials plan to offer vaccines to elementary students during parent-teacher conferences on Oct. 26 and have hired extra custodians to clean common areas during the day.
In Jackson County, more than half the county’s 63 confirmed cases involve Ripley High School, where Superintendent Blaine Hess said about a fifth of the school’s 1,005 students were absent Monday.
“It’s definitely a bump in the road whenever you have that percentage of the student population absent,” said Melanie Purkey, executive director of the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools. But she said schools are being encouraged to stay open as long as they have the staff and students to operate safely.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
