By the Franklin Daily Journal
EDINBURGH — For the second time this semester, an Edinburgh elementary school will go entirely virtual due to a staffing shortage.
This time, the spread of COVID-19 originated in East Side Elementary School’s cafeteria. The entire cafeteria staff is out due to quarantine measures after the school’s cafeteria manager tested positive, so the school can’t serve students. All students at the school will move to eLearning Wednesday and remain home until Jan. 5, when students are expected to return from winter break, said Doug Arnold, Edinburgh Community Schools superintendent.
Students received bag lunches on Tuesday and were able to take their Chromebooks home for the period of digital learning, which will last until Dec. 18.
“If you can’t feed the kids, it’s difficult to have school,” Arnold said.
Students at both the middle and high school will remain in-person five days a week. Edinburgh schools is the only one of the county’s six district to not have students on a hybrid schedule.
Johnson County’s seven-day positivity rate climbed to 15.8% Monday, the highest it had been since April. On Tuesday, the rate was 15.7%, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
This is the second time in a month the school has had staffing shortages. Students moved to eLearning Nov. 16 when quarantine measures meant there weren’t enough teachers to have students in classrooms at the school.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
