JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As COVID-19 cases increase throughout the state, the Duval County Public School District is reporting record highs.
"Our cases, positive cases per week, we surpassed where we were for this time last year," explained Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene at Monday's school board meeting.
Dr. Greene says there are 473 confirmed COVID cases across the district and that's causing severe shortages in the classroom.
She's ordering district administrators and others to become substitutes for the next month.
"Team Duval has stepped up. We have not had a single district level individual complain. They have all tried to figure out how to make their schedules work to find that balance," she said.
Dr. Greene says she will be filling in at a school Friday. The district has more than 1,000 job vacancies.
County-wide, there is a 34.5% COVID-19 positivity rate with 1,434 cases per 100,000 people. That number is much higher than a week ago, which saw a 2.1% positivity rate and 29.2 cases were 100,000 people.
Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Frederick Southwick, explains what he says we need to do to slow the spread.
"I recommend overreacting. Not getting upset. By that I mean if we can all get vaccinated, get our boosters, use masks and socially distant. I think this is the time to implement all those again," he said.
You can read the memo Dr. Greene sent to administrators about filling in in classrooms and school offices below:
The number of COVID-19 cases has created a higher than usual number of employee absences in our schools. To increase support to our schools, we are assigning administrators and specialists to assist schools with covering absences. I have also been assigned to a team and will be providing support. Specialists have been assigned to work two of the next four weeks in an assigned school covering classes or offices. District administrators have been assigned to a regional COVID Admin Emergency Response Team. The attached chart shows your region assignment and date (all Mondays or all Fridays). The workday prior to your assigned dates, you will receive an email inviting you to review a shared list of schools needing support. After reviewing the needs, you should accept one of the listed opportunities by typing your name in the shared chart next to the accepted assignment. By accepting the assignment early, you will be able to report directly to the school on the assigned date. The responsibilities for the day may include covering a classroom or office in the absence of a staff member due to COVID-19. If for any reason you are not able to accept an assignment on your assigned date, you must find another administrator on your team to cover in your absence. Please plan by reserving your calendar on the appropriate days from January 10 – February 4. Note, there is no school Friday, January 14th or Monday, January 17th.
While every effort was made to ensure fairness with assignments, departmental needs may result in individual employee schedules varying slightly. District leadership will avoid scheduling meetings on all Mondays and Fridays from January 10 – February 4. While this requirement may temporarily disrupt your schedules, your support is greatly appreciated. It is my sincere hope that the number of COVID-19 cases will decline by February, and we will be able to resume normal work schedules.