MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County Schools is dealing with staffing shortages amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
The school system began the spring semester with 359 students and 59 staff members testing positive for the coronavirus. Officials also reported 440 students and 60 employees are in quarantine.
School system Superintendent Eddie Campbell told MetroNews affiliate WAJR-AM that education leaders anticipated a high number of absences related to the pandemic.
“A lot of kids out and a lot of quarantines. The biggest issue has been staffing,” he said.
According to Campbell, there is pressure to keep classrooms open. Educators and other staff members have done various actions to maintain some level of normalcy.
“We’re doing anything and everything to get things covered so we can keep our doors open,” he said. “That’s been our priority. We’ve said all along we want to keep our doors open.”
Campbell also noted the challenges with attracting new talent to the school district. He recalled times when he would receive more than 30 responses to an advertised job, but current job postings only attract a handful of candidates.
“For years I don’t think Monongalia County has experienced the same type of things many other counties in the state have experienced, but we’re starting to,” he said.
Winter weather throughout January has provided some stress relief to employees; Campbell noted snow days provide employees with time needed to work on projects and step away from obligations.