Welcome to Independent Tribune Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

independenttribune.com - Independent Tribune

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

Schools see growth, swine flu during first week

By Jessica Groover | Independent Tribune

Published: August 30, 2009

As the Cabarrus County Board of Education met on Thursday for its work session, members and school system staff said they were pleased with the outcome of the first week of school.

As the school year started, the three-tier busing plan debuted and altered some school start and end times. Jim Amendum, associate superintendent for the school system, said the plan's first week of implementation went well.

"I have not had any more complaint calls, because of the plan, than any other year," Amendum said. "(The calls) seem to be down."

Much of the plan affected middle school students, who begin their classes at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.

"Personally, we just had to do a lot of juggling, because we have children in elementary school (as well as middle school)," said Lori Mack, treasurer of the Parent Teacher Student Organization for J.N. Fries Middle School.

Mack said she knows the new bus times have been an inconvenience for some parents, but time will tell how the plan affects families.

School board members were relieved to hear the first week of the busing plan went well.

"We all had anxiety about how that would go," said board chairwoman Holly Blackwelder. "We are glad to hear that, with the changes that were made, it didn't have a negative impact."

Enrollment has also increased, which was expected, Blackwelder said.

On the first day of school, there were 27,299 students, and by Thursday, that number had risen to 27,705, Amendum said. He predicted enrollment on the 10th day of school will be slightly more than 28,000.

Another new issue of discussion was how the school system is dealing with the H1N1 virus. Amendum said there were 18 confirmed cases on the first day.

Because Amendum said closing school has been found to be ineffective, that will not be a strategy for dealing with the virus.

"We are asking staff members or students to stay home (if they have flu-like symptoms)," Amendum said. "We've been publishing these guidelines and doing what we can."

Those guidelines are available at www.ccsweb.cabarrus.k12.nc.us