Parent worries Fresno-area school closure over coronavirus concerns is too short

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Two schools in Parlier Unified remained dark Wednesday morning, two days the first Fresno County schools to close in connection with concerns over coronavirus.

Parlier High and Barletic Elementary were shuttered after school officials announced a student had recently traveled to a country health officials have described as high risk of COVID-19. Both schools are on the same campus and share a cafeteria.

The student in question has not shown any symptoms and is considered low risk, according to school officials.

Superintendent Ashley Marroquin says classes have been canceled for the rest of the week till Monday.

“At this point, these are all precautionary measures because the safety of everyone is our number one priority,” Marroquin said.

However, students and parents are worried they may have already been exposed to the virus.

Many didn’t know of the student’s possible exposure until they saw photos on social media, a Parlier parent told The Bee.

“Students had been commenting on it and also some teachers. It started happening yesterday and even teachers were covering their mouth,” Guadalupe Mora the older sister of Esperanza Mora a Parlier high school student said.

Mora said families are afraid their children may have already been exposed to the virus since the student attended classes for two weeks.

The five other schools in Parlier Unified (San Joaquin Valley High, Parlier Jr. High, Benavidez Elementary, Chavez Elementary and Martinez Elementary) will remain open as usual, according to Scott Griffin, the school district’s human resource director.

Mora says students and their family members feel classes should be canceled longer in order to ensure the virus does not spread in the case that others were infected. She said many are “worried and don’t want to go to school.”

But families are also afraid of self quarantining because they don’t want to face legal consequences. “They fear they might be taken to court if they start missing school, they are scared.,” Mora said.

There is also concern among parents on how class cancellations are communicated. According to Mora, at least parents don’t have internet access, and many didn’t know about the current class cancellation.

Mora’s mother filed two complaints with Parlier Unified, one in Spanish and the other English. In the complaints, she notes the district’s lack of communication on the exposure to the virus, and the district’s choice to cancel classes for what parents feel is to short a period of time.

“Schools should close for at least three-weeks while things get controlled,” Rosa Mora writes in the complaint.

Marroquin says the district was advised to close the two schools through the end of the week in order to do a thorough cleaning of the two schools.

The closures come just days after Fresno County confirmed its first case of the coronavirus after a pair of travelers returned from a cruise and presented themselves for testing afterward.

One of the tests returned as a presumptive positive case.

Local events such as kids day, the Fresno State annual Peach Blossom Festival, and study abroad programs have all been canceled as preventative measures for COVID-19.

“I’m really worried because what if I have that virus and I might spread it around, especially to my family,” Mora said.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 9:51 AM.