Post by title1parent on May 7, 2009 5:21:02 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1562940,2_1_AU07_SWINEFLU_S1.article
Flu's financial tally?
Swine flu scare costs will be in school hours, not dollars
May 7, 2009
By MATT HANLEY mhanley@scn1.com
With all the local schools that closed for swine flu now open, it appears the cost of the mini-crisis will be more in classroom hours than in dollars.
Fox Valley school districts reported Wednesday that they spent no more than a few hundred dollars above what they would normally spend -- mostly on sanitizer, hand wipes and cleaning materials -- for cleaning classrooms because of the scare.
Even those small expenditures were mostly likely offset by the expense for water and other utilities that would have been used during a regular school day, officials said.
Several schools had the custodial staff wipe down the schools. But since the buildings were closed, the staff was able to complete the work during their regular hours and very little overtime was necessary, officials said.
Seven Fox Valley schools closed because of confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu: Haines Middle School in St. Charles; Batavia High School and Rotolo Middle School in Batavia; Marmion Academy in Aurora; and Thompson Junior High, Bednarcik Junior High and Fox Chase Elementary School in the Oswego district.
The state, which gives out aid based on school attendance, will use the three days prior to the interruption for calculating payments.
The biggest cost for those buildings may be in teaching days. Schools set aside days at the end of the year which can be used if the district is closed unexpectedly, like for a snow day. However, that only applies if the entire district is closed.
So, at swine flu schools the year will go on, with a few less days in class.
"How do you put a dollar value on the instruction we lost?" said Jack Barshinger, superintendent of schools in Batavia. "Every day we lose of student instruction, we never get back."
In Oswego, the schools are trying to recover some of that lost classroom time by limiting the number of field trips and out-of-school activities for the rest of the year. Specific information will be provided to parents by the school principals.
"The recent disruptions to the school day due to the H1N1 (swine flu) virus have been unfortunate," said Oswego's director of communications Kristine Liptrot. "However, the decisions made by the district were always done in the best interests of our children and employees."
The last day of class for students will still be June 5 for all Oswego schools.
Batavia and St. Charles school districts decided they will pay their staff for the time the school was closed. Information on paying Oswego and Marmion staff was not available Wednesday.
Batavia High School re-opened Wednesday and Rotolo Middle School was set to open today. Barshinger said absences Wednesday were 7 percent, a little more than the usual 5 to 6 percent. But considering the original plan was to close the school until Friday, Barshinger called that attendance rate "remarkable."
The schedule for prom, finals and graduation will not be affected, Barshinger said. The school also is hoping to reschedule all its postponed athletic events.
Classes are scheduled to resume today at Marmion Academy, with regular daily schedule and uniform.
The scheduled senior trip to Great America today has been canceled, according to an update posted on the school's Web site.
The rescheduling of exams or school activities that were canceled will be communicated as soon as possible by school officials. Graduation and related events will not be affected by the swine flu closing, officials said.
Flu's financial tally?
Swine flu scare costs will be in school hours, not dollars
May 7, 2009
By MATT HANLEY mhanley@scn1.com
With all the local schools that closed for swine flu now open, it appears the cost of the mini-crisis will be more in classroom hours than in dollars.
Fox Valley school districts reported Wednesday that they spent no more than a few hundred dollars above what they would normally spend -- mostly on sanitizer, hand wipes and cleaning materials -- for cleaning classrooms because of the scare.
Even those small expenditures were mostly likely offset by the expense for water and other utilities that would have been used during a regular school day, officials said.
Several schools had the custodial staff wipe down the schools. But since the buildings were closed, the staff was able to complete the work during their regular hours and very little overtime was necessary, officials said.
Seven Fox Valley schools closed because of confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu: Haines Middle School in St. Charles; Batavia High School and Rotolo Middle School in Batavia; Marmion Academy in Aurora; and Thompson Junior High, Bednarcik Junior High and Fox Chase Elementary School in the Oswego district.
The state, which gives out aid based on school attendance, will use the three days prior to the interruption for calculating payments.
The biggest cost for those buildings may be in teaching days. Schools set aside days at the end of the year which can be used if the district is closed unexpectedly, like for a snow day. However, that only applies if the entire district is closed.
So, at swine flu schools the year will go on, with a few less days in class.
"How do you put a dollar value on the instruction we lost?" said Jack Barshinger, superintendent of schools in Batavia. "Every day we lose of student instruction, we never get back."
In Oswego, the schools are trying to recover some of that lost classroom time by limiting the number of field trips and out-of-school activities for the rest of the year. Specific information will be provided to parents by the school principals.
"The recent disruptions to the school day due to the H1N1 (swine flu) virus have been unfortunate," said Oswego's director of communications Kristine Liptrot. "However, the decisions made by the district were always done in the best interests of our children and employees."
The last day of class for students will still be June 5 for all Oswego schools.
Batavia and St. Charles school districts decided they will pay their staff for the time the school was closed. Information on paying Oswego and Marmion staff was not available Wednesday.
Batavia High School re-opened Wednesday and Rotolo Middle School was set to open today. Barshinger said absences Wednesday were 7 percent, a little more than the usual 5 to 6 percent. But considering the original plan was to close the school until Friday, Barshinger called that attendance rate "remarkable."
The schedule for prom, finals and graduation will not be affected, Barshinger said. The school also is hoping to reschedule all its postponed athletic events.
Classes are scheduled to resume today at Marmion Academy, with regular daily schedule and uniform.
The scheduled senior trip to Great America today has been canceled, according to an update posted on the school's Web site.
The rescheduling of exams or school activities that were canceled will be communicated as soon as possible by school officials. Graduation and related events will not be affected by the swine flu closing, officials said.