Daniel Prince
Faculty, student cases and quarantine numbers reported
School is out today for Labor Day. Students have now made it through two weeks of school. While several districts in the state have seen hundreds of cases of COVID and in some cases have even briefly gone to virtual learning, WBCU News reached out to the Union County School District to find out how the numbers are looking for our district.
Director of Administration Eric Childers reported that for the first week of school, there were 7 positive cases among staff members and 28 cases among students. The total number in quarantine was 141. For the second week of school, there were 6 positive staff cases and 52 student cases. The number in quarantine jumped to 451.
The school board’s next scheduled meeting is set for Monday, September 27. Board members and the superintendent pleaded for those in schools to please wear masks, but the board stopped short of requiring it, voting against a mandate, 5-3. Since then, the SC Supreme Court ruled against the City of Columbia’s mandate. It looks to be up to legislators whether to repeal the budget proviso prohibiting the use of state funds to enforce a mask mandate.