Texas school district closes after 2 teachers die
WACO, Texas (KWKT) — A Texas school district announced Monday evening it will be closing all campuses until Sept. 7 after a second teacher passed away of COVID-19 complications.
Natalia Chansler and David “Andy” McCormick both taught social studies at Connally Independent School District’s junior high school.
“Although they were in the same content area, they were at two different grade levels in two different portions .. of the building,” said Assistant Superintendent Jill Bottelberghe. All staff identified as “close contacts” with a known COVID-19 case are asked to get tested every other day, Bottelberghe said.
All of the district’s campuses are set to be closed for a week and students will do remote learning. Buildings will be deep cleaned and sanitized.
The district will also offer testing for the families of the students who might have been in contact with McCormick and Chansler.
The district released a statement to all parents and guardians saying, “We know the hardship this may present to families, but we want to do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our students and team.” For now, the district is asking parents to monitor children for symptoms and alert the school nurse if a child tests positive.