WYOMING COUNTY, Pa. — It's been a rough week for staff and board members at Lackawanna Trail Junior/Senior High school after the district just learned about another coronavirus case.
While they hoped nobody would contract the virus, the superintendent said they were always ready for the possibility.
"We had a plan for every scenario, so I wouldn't say we necessarily thought it was inevitable, but we weren't so naive to think it wouldn't happen," said Superintendent Matthew Rakauskas.
Students and employees at the school have been in school for one month, and five people have tested positive for the coronavirus—most of those cases coming to light just this week.
The latest case is a student from the high school. The district learned about the positive case Saturday morning thought the Department of Health.
The district fully reopened in September, with several safety procedures in place.
"But unfortunately, with even with all those efforts, deep cleaning, and social distancing, we still accumulated our fifth positive case. That means a 14-day closure," said Rakauskas.
Starting Tuesday, all junior and senior high school students will go virtual until October 23.
The superintendent says more than 100 employees and students are already in quarantine.
The closure of the junior and senior high school does not affect the elementary center.
Parents and community members have mixed emotions on whether or not the school should go virtual.
A parent who wanted to remain anonymous said, "I think It's extremely negligent that the elementary school would continue in person. We are a small school, and everyone is interconnected."
Going forward, the superintendent hopes to get the students back in the classroom.
"It's been a real community effort to keep the doors open, and we plan to close and teach virtually for the next 14 days and get right back on the horse," Rakauskas explained.
The school district is contract tracing to see who may have come in contact with the most recent student to test positive.
All athletics and extracurricular activities are canceled until October 23.
If your student left a Chromebook at the high school, the district is asking you to call the main office to arrange a pick-up.
More information is available on the district's website.