Issaquah elementary school closes Monday, too many staff have COVID

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Sunset Elementary School in the Issaquah School District is closed for classes, as too many teachers are out sick from COVID.

According to the District, 18 teachers are currently out as of Monday. Last Friday, 11 teachers and 56 kids called out sick.

The school emailed parents Friday, saying they anticipated sick calls and that classes were canceled.

An email from principal LeAnn Tuupo to parents reads: "As many of you are likely aware, we have had rising COVID-19 cases, and a number of clusters in our classes. Even with our wonderful substitute teachers and substitute classified staff members, we do not anticipate having enough staff to hold school on Monday and Tuesday at our building. We made this decision based on the number of staff that we already know will not be at school on Monday, and because data shows those numbers tend to increase over the weekend. We are hopeful that the situation will improve enough that we can have school in person on Wednesday. We will be in touch with you again before then."

Another email sent from the district mentioned there were other schools they were keeping an eye on, due to staffing issues and COVID cases.

"If cases among staff continue to rise, it’s possible that at some point we may be unable to provide enough staff at another elementary school building in order to have school the following day," the note read. "Please know that we are keeping a very close eye on staff counts, and we remain committed to having in-person school if at all possible. We are grateful for our excellent substitute teachers and substitute classified staff members, who have been vital to our mission this year."

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The district said that they make every decision to hold school by 6 p.m. the night before.

Officials said at this time, there are no changes or adjusted recommendations for the middle and high schools.