Clovis Unified schools to close until mid-April to fight spreading coronavirus

Clovis Unified, the second-largest school district in the central San Joaquin Valley, will close, becoming the latest area district to keep students and staff away from the classroom to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Schools in Clovis will shutter Monday and reopen April 14, officials said.

Clovis school officials issued the decision Friday evening after an emergency school board meeting, hours after Fresno and Central school districts announced their own closures.

The district serves more than 40,000 students.

The move came only after Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed an executive order guaranteeing schools would “retain state funding” if they closed to combat the public health emergency.

“Closing schools has a massive, cascading effect for our kids and their families – especially those least equipped financially to deal with them,” Newsom said in a statement. “The needs of California kids must be met regardless of whether their school is open or closed. School districts that choose to close must use state educational dollars to quickly meet the needs of children and families.”

Newsom’s order did not require schools to close.

Clovis Unified officials said they are considering online classes or independent study, but will have more information for parents and staff after the weekend.

Other district closures

Parlier Unified, Sanger Unified, Visalia Unified, Hanford Joint Union High School, Washington Union and Caruthers Unified also announced closures shortly after Fresno Unified.

Kerman Unified is doing the same. Meals can be picked up between 10 a.m. and noon at Kerman High School and Kerman Floyd Elementary School, according to an announcement sent to parents.

Yosemite High School in Oakhurst was dark on Friday, after a school staffer visited a high-risk area. School officials stressed there was no known exposure and the staffer is believed to be low-risk, but said the move was out of an “abundance of caution.”

Parlier High and Brletic Elementary in Parlier had temporarily closed until Friday in connection with a student’s recent travels to Europe. As in Oakhurst, there’s no evidence the student was exposed directly and the student is considered “an extremely low risk.”

The California Teachers Association on Friday recommended the closure of all public schools.

“To protect students and educators, we believe closing all public schools and community colleges would be one of the safest measures to help mitigate further spreading of the virus right now,” said CTA President E. Toby Boyd.

The CTA is urging state leaders to also suspend state testing for the year, and provide support for custodial staff, nurses and counselors.

Colleges

Fresno State on Thursday canceled face-to-face classes beginning next week and said classes would soon move online.

State Center Community College District schools, including Fresno City College, made a similar move. West Hills College will move online Wednesday, officials said.

Visalia’s College of the Sequoias has moved its courses online effective immediately.

Fresno Pacific University plans to move all classes online until at least April 12, they said in a statement Friday.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab here.

This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 6:13 PM.