SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The post-holiday season COVID-19 surge is spilling over into local schools — with Sacramento City Unified School District reporting 586 staff absences on Friday, a 21.2% callout rate.
Coupled with the ongoing shortage of substitute teachers, a district spokesperson said staffing scarcity is impacting its work going into 2022.
A collective total of 1,589 positive cases have been identified by the district in the past week — 1,282 of which are students.
San Juan Unified School District campuses have also experienced increased absences because of COVID-19 infections and parents are opting to keep their children home.
According to district spokesperson Raj Rai, staff from the district office and other central departments are stepping into substitute teaching if there's no other staff available.
There are 1,533 students and 397 staff in the district who tested positive for COVID-19, its dashboard shows.
Even for those not testing positive, a Sacramento City Unified district spokesperson said students or staff with any symptoms of COVID-19 are advised to stay home, and testing is available at all school sites in the district Monday through Friday.
- Earl Warren Elementary on 5420 Lowell St. (Jan. 13, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
- Serna Center on 5735 47th St. (Daily 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. / Jan. 12, 21 & 28, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
- Albert Einstein Middle School on 9325 Mirandy Dr. (Daily 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.)
Though work at Sacramento City Unified schools has been impacted by the absences, classes remain open for in-person learning under strict safety protocols.
