KDRV Staff
 
September 28, 2009
 
PROSPECT, Ore. - The Jackson County Health Department announced Monday that it will close the Prospect School in Southern Oregon due to a flu outbreak.
 
Health and school officials made the decision after one-third of the school's students were absent Monday with flu-like symptoms.
 
The school will close Tuesday and remain closed the rest of the week. Classes will resume next Monday, October 5th.
 
"We had 69 students out of our 210 students absent. And we just felt it was time to say... 'lets take the week off and get well'," Prospect Superintendent Don Alexander said.
 
While the Oregon Department of Education today recommended school districts stay open despite any flu concerns, local health officials say Prospect's remote location and small student body prompted the decision to do so.
 
"We had five teacher out too, and its very difficult to get substitutes up here. And by the time you have at least half of your high school students out we had half of the eighth grade students out and a substitute teacher coming in. We don't feel that the quality of education in that classroom would be what it really needs to be," Alexander said.
 
Alexander says the missed days will be made up as soon as possible.
 
"We're going to try to make up days either in November or in the spring, because we still haven't gone into the winter months, when we have snow and ice up here and it's just hard to tell what's going to happen," Alexander said.
 
All after school activities are also canceled this week.
 
Health officials say the H1N1 vaccine will arrive in Southern Oregon within the next couple weeks.