Metro schools says it’s taking precautions recommended by city health officials amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus. On Tuesday, the state reported its seventh positive case.
The district is urging parents to remove kids from school if they have fevers and says they’re developing a procedure to allow staff who are ill to stay home.
“We continue to provide updates to our families via callouts and social media posts. We have a website where we are constantly updating information as it’s being provided to us,” says Adrienne Battle, interim director of Metro schools.
Battle says there’s no reason to close schools but is taking guidance from the city’s health department. She says the district has asked janitorial workers to focus on sanitation, too.
This extra attention on cleaning comes at a time when the district’s privatized custodial service is being criticized about its ability to keep schools clean. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Education Association said they received complaints from teachers that trash cans weren’t being emptied, and that soap dispensers weren’t being filled.
The union says by and large, “the only disinfecting of surfaces is being done by teachers who have used supplies they have purchased with their own money.”
The district says it has a place for custodial complaints, and expects the company to address them.
“Our contractor service providers will respond to the need,” says Battle. “That is something we continue to enforce across our district.”
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