Norwich schools forced to close amid massive staffing shortage

All public schools in Norwich were closed Friday because of a massive staffing shortage, the superintendent said.

In a Thursday note to families, Kristen E. Stringfellow, superintendent of schools, said 133 staff members had already called in, and the school system had only 40 people — including central office staff — to fill in for them. She did not say COVID-19 exposures was the reason for the absences, although the virus’ fast-spreading omicron variant has had people calling in sick to work and school across the state and country. All eight Connecticut counties are experiencing a “high” level of transmission.

“It would not be safe for our students and staff to hold school tomorrow,” Stringfellow wrote.

The absences included 56 teachers, three nurses, four assistant principals, one principal, 33 paraprofessionals and five social workers, she said.

“For the past two weeks, we have been using every resource at our disposal to cover the mass staff absences we have been experiencing. However, we do not have the personal to cover this number of vacancies,” Stringfellow said.

The school day will be made up in June, she said, because “remote learning days can only be scheduled by the governor.”

“I am truly sorry for the inconvenience this decision will create for child-care coverage,” Stringfellow added, but “Safety is our ultimate priority.”

Illing Middle School in Manchester was also closed Friday. Superintendent Matt Geary said in a letter Thursday evening that the decision was made “because of extreme staffing shortages related to COVID-19.”

The district has more than 50 cases currently, Geary said, with 12 at Illing.

“We also know that having students in school is in their best interest but we do not have enough staff available tomorrow to ensure the health and safety of everyone, leaving us with no alternative,” he wrote.