Livingston Middle School Closes Due To Sickness Among Staff

Sickness taking a toll on the staff of Livingston Middle School closing the Overton County School for two days.

Director of Schools Donnie Holman said a mixture of COVID, flu and other illnesses has 13 or 14 of the 21 teachers unable to work.

“Another problem in that is sometimes we can use an educational assistant or other people in the building to cover a class for us if we’re in a bind,” Holman said. “But, the issue with the middle school is the teachers and the paraprofessionals, the majority of them are out.”

Holman said nine or 10 support staff are also out with only two substitute teachers available. According to Livingston Middle School, classes are planned to resume Monday.

“It is a struggle, and we are doing the best we can,” Holman said.

The state Department of Education granted a waiver Wednesday that allowed only the middle school to close. Holman said that occurred before the system closed all schools Thursday and Friday for inclement weather.

Holman said he does not have an exact number on student COVID cases, but cases were high. Holman said the spike in sickness seemed to start when schools returned from Christmas break.

“They (Schools) are all facing some issues and concerns,” Holman said. “But like I said earlier when I spoke with them, they are still able to manage. The middle school their numbers were just too high.”