UPDATED: COVID closes 10 more Ky. school districts; tally of in-person shutdowns at 31

The Paris Independent and Montgomery county schools district in Kentucky are among the latest to announce a stop to in-person learning, with the statewide tally of districts that have done so rising to 31

Paris Independent Superintendent Stephen McCauley said in a message to families Wednesday that “even with the availability of a vaccine and numerous safety precautions in place, our positive case numbers in Bourbon County and around the state continue to soar. “

Due to the continued increase in positive cases and quarantines of both students and staff, there will be no school in Paris Independent on Friday and the entire following week, Sept. 6 to Sept. 10. Those days will not be non-traditional instruction (NTI) or at-home learning days, they will be made up later in the year. Students will return to school on Sept. 13. Friday will be a staff-only work day.

Outdoor athletics and band will continue in the Paris Independent district during the closure with safety measures in place. All indoor athletic facilities will be closed with the exception of in-season teams and groups. Universal masking will continue to be required unless KHSAA guidelines exempt them.

As a result of overlapping cases and the need to create a pause to avoid creating additional contacts, Montgomery County Schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday, a Facebook post said Wednesday.

The Mount Sterling school officials said they would not use state-approved at home learning or NTI days. The days will be made up later in the school year.

There will be no school Friday in Marion County due to the anticipated number of staff absences and lack of substitute employees available. This will not be an NTI day, district officials said in a Facebook post.

Marion County has an unusually high number of staff members who will be absent due to a combination of illness and quarantines, and is similarly limited in the number of substitutes.

“We are calling off school to avoid any potential issues related to supervision and student safety, a message to parents said.

Clinton County Schools officials announced on its website that Monday, August 30th - Friday, September 3rd will be NTI Days. In-person instruction will resume on Tuesday, September 7th.

Rockcastle County closed schools with no learning and canceled athletics Thursday and Friday, according to a Facebook post. Ashland Independent is closing Thursday through Sept 10 due to student and staff absenteeism. There will be no extracurricular activities in that district beginning Monday. Those activities will resume Sept. 13, officials said.

Spencer County schools are closing Thursday and Friday, with no learning, due to positive cases and quarantines, but will continue extracurricular activities, its superintendent said. Carlisle County Schools officials said on social media that the district is closed Thursday and Friday with no learning. That district has rising positive cases and quarantines.

Additionally, Clay County canceled school Tuesday, then announced without elaboration that classes would not resume until Sept. 7.

In Wolfe County Schools, “the decision was made due to the high number of Covid cases in our community,” a Facebook post on Tuesday said.

All Wolfe County Schools will be closed next week, Tuesday through Sept. 10. Monday was already scheduled as a day off for Labor Day. Friday was already scheduled as a day off as well.

Three of the days off will be made up by using fall break as regularly scheduled school days. Fall break was scheduled for Oct. 14, 15 and 18.

“We ask that those eligible for vaccination to please consider doing so and continue to take measures, such as wearing masks, to help our community move past our current surge of COVID,” district officials said.

The following additional districts have stopped in-person learning for various time periods. Some have offered no learning and others returned to virtual learning: Berea Independent, Crittenden, Marshall, Russell, Casey, Carter, Franklin, Owsley, Knott, Powell, Pike, Lee, Leslie, Jenkins Independent, Carroll, Greenup, Letcher, Russellville Independent, Fairview Independent, Edmonson, Marion and Magoffin.

Gov. Andy Beshear and lawmakers expect to soon call a special session of the General Assembly soon to give school superintendents more flexibility in COVID school closures.

This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 10:47 AM.