Staff shortages caused by people sick with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are forcing the Rochester City School District to consider a return to remote learning.
Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small told a City School Board meeting Tuesday night that the district could be forced to make changes as early as Wednesday. She said she’s continuing to look at a pattern of widespread staff and student absences due to COVID. She says 40 percent of students were absent on Monday when winter break ended, double the usual amount. As many as 11 percent of staff members also called in sick.
Myers-Small said she would give families, teachers and staff as much notification as she can if things are going to change. She did not have a direct answer for the school board Tuesday night on what might be the breaking point that sends the district back to internet classes.
The school district had earlier warned that students could face two-hour delays on Wednesday morning waiting for their school buses. More than 10 percent of the city’s bus drivers are sick and the district was forced to combine bus routes, making delays. Some children weren’t able to get home until 6:30 Tuesday evening, according to the district’s Chief Operating Officer.