Spencer County Schools closed Thursday due to COVID outbreak

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Spencer County Schools will close Thursday due to the rising number of COVID cases as around 10% of the district is quarantined.

Mother of three Angela Bray said the day off on Sept. 2 will benefit the health of her family. However, Bray said her 6-year-old begs to differ and was disappointed by the news.

“She’s a social butterfly,” Bray said. “She wanted to go to school. She was out of school all last year and missed her very first year of kindergarten. I know she’s looking at it like, ‘Wait, is this permanent? Am I going back?’”

Bray admitted she had the opposite reaction from her kids when Superintendent Chuck Abell posted a video notifying families there won’t be school on Sept. 2 due to the rise in cases.

“My first thought was, ‘One day I don’t have to worry about things like, ‘Do the kids have their masks? Is everyone in mask compliance?’” she said.

According to the district website, as of Aug. 31, 2021, there were 76 reported positive cases and 354 people quarantined, accounting for 10% of the district’s population.

“As the numbers keep rising, I’m just like, where are they getting this from?” Bray said. “Who is not doing what they’re supposed to do?”

Statewide, Spencer County’s vaccination rate is one of the lowest. The Kentucky COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard shows at least 5,249 people are vaccinated out of 18,246 people living in Spencer County, only 28% of the county population.

School districts in Kentucky have only 10 built-in learning days available during the school year, including for snow days that might occur during winter weather.

According to Spencer County Schools Superintendent Chuck Adams, Thursday’s day off will be added to the end of the school year, preserving its 10 virtual learning days.

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