11 JANUARY 2022 | ASHLAND, OR. — After less than a week back at school following winter break, Ashland High School will shutter its doors after a staggering increase of cases driven by athletic teams, Superintendent Samuel Bognadove revealed in a January 10 email. But he doesn’t say it’s because staff are sick. It’s “due to staffing shortages,” Bognadove writes.

Substitutes are in short supply, and a large handful of classified positions, from bus drivers to teachers aides, are still vacant. That leaves nobody to help in the classrooms when a staff member is isolate or quarantined, forcing the closure. A classroom at John Muir Outdoor School is also moving to distance learning this week, according to the email.

Bognadove encourages parents and guardians to be prepared, and to have a “contingency plan for student(s) and family in the event of a move to short-term distance learning…”

All winter sports and other activities have been postponed until January 31 as well.

Read the full email here.