The Geneva School of Boerne canceled classes last Friday and this Tuesday around Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday because of a spike in COVID-19 cases, officials announced.
“As has been the case in the greater San Antonio area, the recent COVID omicron outbreak has placed a burden on Geneva School of Boerne staffing, particularly in the Grammar School because of our low student-teacher ratio,” information in a press release stated.
The information stated the school hopes that extending the holiday weekend by cancelling school on Friday, January 14, and Tuesday, January 18, will provide the necessary relief to enable a return to campus on Wednesday, January 19.
In the neighboring Boerne Independent School District, however, classes continued as scheduled as COVID-19 cases there have remained relatively in check.
“Our protocols and low student-to-faculty ratio produced a temporary staffing issue,” Geneva Head of School David Corbin said. “The good news is that the wave passing through our community will enable us to spring back that much more quickly.
“We will make our way through this temporary surge, ready to return and delight in the joy and excellence of an in-person Geneva education for the remainder of the school year. We have encouraged families and students to use some of their time away from school to complete any outstanding assignments, coursework and/or preparations so that we are all in a better place come Wednesday,” Corbin said.
At this point, activities such as athletics and play practice will continue, provided sufficient staffing is in place in those areas, the information stated.
Geneva Advancement Director Libby Lunsford told The Star that the school doesn’t have the number of students and staff who have called in sick because of the virus.
“We don’t have that info,” she told The Star.
In Boerne ISD, the total number of COVID-19 cases reported as of last Friday was 191, which represents about 1.7 percent of the total student-staff number.
Champion High School was dealing with 37 of those cases while Boerne High School had 26. However, those numbers reflect only 1.8 and 1.9 percent of the population in those buildings, respectively.
The only campuses in the district that had a 2 percent or higher infection rate were Boerne Middle School South at 2.1 percent (21 cases), Curington Elementary at 2 percent (14 cases) and Kendall Elementary at 2 percent (16 cases).
As of Friday, Boerne ISD had 10,417 students and 1,055 staff members for a total population of 11,472, district numbers showed.
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