Ritchey said that on Thursday, more than 250 students were out sick, in a district that usually has fewer than 1500 students in district schools.
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“We encourage and expect meaningful work … but we had classrooms where they were missing so many students that it was difficult to move ahead,” Ritchey said. “We felt this was the best opportunity for the kids to have a chance to rest up, get healthy over the weekend, and come back Monday ready to go.”
Ritchey said the illness hit hardest at the middle school, but added that district staff are doing deep-cleaning work at all schools today. He characterized it as the level of sanitizing that usually only happens in the summer.
Ritchey said weekend sports and other events at the schools will go on, since the buildings will have been thoroughly cleaned.
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