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Macon Schools Chief Addresses Coronavirus Concerns
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No, schools will not be closing. Yes, the school district will be purposeful in making sure school bathrooms have enough soap.
Those were just a couple of the things Bibb County Schools Superintendent Curtis Jones addressed during a press conference on the district's coronavirus response Tuesday.
Jones read from a number of emails submitted by parents and others, addressing them one by one.
"I would just like to note that at my kids' school there's no soap available for hand washing," read one email.
"My daughter's school sometimes has soap but they are sometimes discouraged from using it and encouraged to use hand sanitizer," read another.
Jones turned the lectern over to his Chief of Staff Keith Simmons for the response. Simmons said the district had created a group tasked with checking schools, sometimes daily, sometimes weekly, to make sure there is ample soap for the purposes of washing hands.
"If you have a concern about the need for soap in a particular school...please reach out to me directly," Simmons said.
WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE
Regarding the idea that schools should soon close, Simmons said there are 20 people in the school district who are tasked with knowing when coronavirus might go from not worth district action to a reason to close schools.
"We are currently identifying thresholds, if you will," Simmons said. '
Those thresholds will be based on knowing when student absences should be in high enough numbers to trigger a district reaction. So far, Superintendent Jones said schools are not experiencing abnormal absences.
Simmons also encouraged district staff members who are feeling ill to stay home and seek medical attention if they need it.
Additionally, Superintendent Jones said the district is taking a census of at home access to online tools for students to gauge how effective digital learning would be in the event of school closures.
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