The Connally Independent School District has made the decision to close all campuses through Monday, Sept. 6.
The closure will give way to deep cleaning and sanitation of classrooms on all campuses. Parents and guardians will be receiving additional information about remote conferencing and attendance to keep learning in progress through the district's closure. The district announced this closure after two teachers died due to COVID-19.
"This closure is an effort to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and is in line with recommendations from the McLennan County Health Department," said the district in an announcement Monday evening. "Our hope is that the closure and holiday break will provide those who are positive with the virus or exposed to others with the virus, the time to isolate and recover."
On Monday, Connally High School Head Football Coach Terry Gerik said the school will still carry on with its scheduled Friday night football game against La Vega. According to Gerik, the reason the district for the closure was due to thorough, contracted cleaning of the school.
Despite @connally_hs being closed through Tuesday due to COVID, @ConnallyCadets will still play rival @lvpirates Friday night as scheduled. #txhsfb
— Jack Allen (@JackAllenKXXV) August 31, 2021
However, the school district announced on Wednesday that the football game scheduled for Friday, Sept. 3 has been canceled.
"This decision was made due to the increasing numbers of COVID in our community," said Connally ISD. "The first drive-thru COVID testing session for CISD staff, students and community members conducted this morning yielded a 26 percent positivity rate. With this data, we felt it necessary to cancel all indoor and outdoor activities at all levels, as we continue to make the health and safety of our community a priority."
The district is additionally organizing COVID-19 testing for students and staff, and asks parents to report any child who tests positive to their campus nurse:
- Connally Early Childhood - Chris Ruhter, cruhter@connally.org
- Connally Primary School - Cheryl Sanchez, clsanchez@connally.org
- Connally Elementary School - Pam White, pwhite@connally.org
- Connally Junior High - Lisa Watts, lwatts@connally.org
- Connally High School - Elizabeth Sharp, esharp@connally.org
"During this school closure, we hope that everyone’s focus will be on preventing the spread of this virus," said CISD. "Again, the situation is being closely monitored and we will keep you apprised of any changes."
According to CISD, free breakfast and lunch meals will continue to be offered to all students and will be distributed from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in front of each campus. The district will also be hosting a vaccination clinic from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13 at the Connally High School gymnasium.
At this time, in-person learning will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
