Central City’s schools closed Friday due to staffing shortage

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Central City Community Schools announced that they would not have school on Friday, November 19th. In a statement from their Facebook page they stated:

“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and cold and flu season, as well as the shortage of substitutes, the Central City CSD has struggled to cover classrooms on a daily basis. The district has done many different strategies to stay open including (but not limited to) moving staff around, canceling some classes, asking licensed paras to cover classrooms, and canceling staff professional development training. Each night, the administration makes a plan to cover the classrooms, and often we have an additional absence to cover in the morning. Tomorrow is a day that has multiple staff absences and as a result, Central City CSD will be closed on Friday, November 19 due to short staffing. We apologize for the short notice.”

Viewers may also recall Saydel High School in Des Moines was forced to cancel classes for their own staff shortages last week.

There is no indication from the Central City Community School District at this time that there will be an issue keeping classes open on Monday.