FOREST GROVE, Ore. (KOIN) – It was a quiet day at the Oak Grove Academy in Gales Creek as dozens of special needs students were told to stay home.
It’s the same with Oak Grove students who are in two classrooms at nearby Tom McCall East School
It turns out it is staff, not students who are ill. 11 out of 30 teachers and staff are calling in sick. So almost 50 students who are in the Oak Grove Academy stayed home.
The district said it is doing special cleaning of the classrooms and staff areas but they say so far they have not heard of any of the students becoming ill.
Just a couple weeks ago, all schools in Albany were closed for a week due to a norovirus outbreak mostly among students. Now cases of flu are increasing in the Portland area.
David Warner with the Forest Grove School District said, “We’re seeing more with flu-like symptoms and calling in so we decided to close school.”
Closing schools is a way to try and make sure those who are sick stay away until they are well. But, in this case, it was a staffing issue as well.
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