Syracuse City School District Superintendent Jaime Alicea got a flurry of phone calls from teachers on Sunday night.
“I was concerned about the numbers,” Alicea said. “When we looked at the number for the people that were going to be out yesterday, it was more than 250 people. We only had 50 subs available. That is the reason why I made the decision.”
Alicea said the district was able to cover enough of the absences at district schools, except for five. The Clary Middle School, Dr. Weeks Elementary School, Ed Smith Pre-K-8 School, Frazer Pre-K-8 School and Seymour Dual Language Academy will learn remotely for the week.
There are about 3,000 students in the five schools, according to Alicea.
He says he believes the schools will be back to in-person learning come Monday.
“We just finished doing the robocalls to the families. Technology, laptops, hotspots will be provided to the families,” said Alicea.
On Tuesday, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said last year prepared the county and districts to keep schools going during the pandemic.
“Continue to do your weekly asymptomatic testing,” McMahon said. “You continue to screen. Kids go out and quarantine. You implement tests to stay programs. You implement the five-day quarantine rule for your workforce that does not have symptoms. There’s nothing more you can do.”
Alicea said parents will be notified Friday if the schools are resuming in-person learning on Monday.
