Preston and West Side school districts cancel all school and classes

UPDATE – PRESTON

Preston School District announced it will cancel all school and classes starting Tuesday, March 17 through at least the end of Spring Break, March 29. The board will re-evaluate the scenario at the end of spring break to see if additional time of closure is necessary. The closure is in response to changes in the situation and changes in advice from government leaders and continued monitoring of the situation. Teachers will be expected to report to school unless they are feeling sick.  Teachers will be using the time from Tuesday through Thursday to prepare lessons to deliver to students in the event the closure lasts longer than through Spring Break.

West Side School District has also closed as of Tuesday, March 17 and will remain closed through at least Friday, March 20th. The West Side High School musical has been postponed indefinitely.

 

PRESTON – While many schools across the country and the state of Utah are closed for the next two weeks in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, schools in Preston, Idaho will remain open and classes will be held on their regular schedule.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little told school districts on Sunday that the choice to close should be made locally, and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said he would prefer that schools remain open.

The Preston School District School Board met Sunday and announced they will keep schools open for now.

In a statement to parents, district officials said there were a number of factors that played a part in the school board’s decision, including following recommendations from the Center for Disease Control.

“Where there is no community spread, or even minimal to moderate spread, the CDC’s recommendation is to remain in school,” according to the statement.

There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 near Preston.

The district said the decision to keep schools open was not made lightly and things could change in the next hour, day, or week.

Still, several districts in Idaho made the decision to close, including the Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Twin Falls, Nampa, Cassia, Lewiston and West Ada districts.

Pocatello-Chubbuck will remain open, but the district will excuse all absences from Monday through Friday, according to a post on its Facebook page.

Boise State University and Idaho State University will be transitioning to online classes.

As of Monday morning, there were five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Idaho.

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