Citing concerns over flu-like and other “health-related” illnesses that have spread with abundance recently throughout the school system, Magnolia Public Schools on Monday announced that all classes will be canceled for the remainder of the week leading into spring break.
“About 25 percent of our students were out by this afternoon due to illness,” said Superintendent John Ward on Monday as he addressed the school board. “We had 35 teachers out — not including bus drivers and other support staff.”
If all had gone accordingly, the school system would have likely waited another day or two before making the closure call, but the circumstances required more immediacy.
“It was getting to the point where it was going to be difficult to even get kids to school,” Ward added.
With the closure through the remainder of this week — Tuesday through Friday — followed by spring break next week, the school system will have essentially quarantined itself for almost two weeks when regular classes get back in session on Monday, March 25.
“That will hopefully allow this thing time to cycle through by the time we come back after spring break and testing starts and everybody is well,” the superintendent said.
To make sure no remnants of the sickness are left inside the classrooms, custodial staff members will remain on the job this week to cleanse and disinfect all school facilities and surfaces. Bus drivers will also do the same with their vehicles.
The school administration office at MHS’ campus will remain open this week from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“All of the other offices are closed,” Ward added. “We want to get this thing out of here.”
Due to built-in AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction) days, the missed school days will not be required for make-up at the end of the year. According to the Arkansas Department of Education, the passage of Arkansas Act 862 in 2017 allows public schools and open-enrollment charter schools for AMI days to be used “when the superintendent closes school due to exceptional or emergency circumstances.” Magnolia has five such days at its disposal for the year, and none had been used until Tuesday.
“Upon returning to school, students will receive AMI packets to complete as homework for each day missed,” said a Monday school statement. “Completed and returned packets will determine the attendance status of students for the AMI day.”
The announcement also stated that all athletic and other extracurricular activities will remain on as scheduled, including Tuesday’s ninth-grade boys and girls track meet in El Dorado. Participants should report to the stadium by 1:45 p.m. Tuesday.
In other School Board news:
Class offerings were approved for the 2019-2020 school year at Magnolia High School and Magnolia Junior High School. MJHS will now implement traditional keyboarding back into its curriculum after it was not offered over the past few years. The need for the class comes as smartphone, thumb-based typing is now prevalent among youths and old-fashioned typing instruction is again needed.
At MHS, numerous new artistic, technical, and agri offerings were approved, including — Jazz band and music theory; and in the Agri department: leadership and communications, ag power systems, beef science, equine science, small animal science, poultry science, and veterinary science. The ag classes will be placed on a rotation of alternating years.
In business, sports and entertainment marketing will be paired with financial literacy, and marketing management will be offered. A grant has also been applied for to fund numerous audio and visual offerings, including — fundamental, intermediate, and advanced audio and tech design in film classes, as well as media communications lab that will be coupled with those offerings
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Bids were approved for expenses at the new performing arts center construction project. For rigging, the low bidder was Main Stage at $246,220; dimming and controls and stage lighting went to American AVL of Ruston, La., at $252,618.11; audio-video system went to American AVL at $409,195.15. The total bids received equaled $927,238, after figuring other expenses. The re-bid saved the school $90,000.
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For financial reports, the school operating fund ended in February with a balance of $7.1 million, while the building fund ended with a balance of $18,486,679. The total cash-in-bank was $25,360,585.
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The board also discussed ways of making it cheaper for students to attend athletic events, especially after the showing at Panther arena during last week’s Arkansas 4A State Basketball tournament. Ideas were brought forth that included an across-the-board athletic pass for any student that participates in a school event. The board said paying $4 for a basketball game as a student is too expensive for many and that something needed to change. The board also noted that doing so would greatly decrease gate revenues — which funds many programs at the school. The matter will be discussed more in the future, according to the board.