Flu causes school budget illness

February 04, 2013, 9:00 pm by Adam Troxtell

Absences due to the flu virus are costing the school district hundreds of thousands in state funding.

Among the establishments hit the hardest by the recent flu outbreak are area schools, and this is resulting in a significant loss in state funding as attendance records dwindle.

Marble Falls ISD reported a loss of $330,000 in state funding as a result of kids missing school within the last nine weeks.

Marble Falls Elementary School Principal and district spokesperson Bruce Peckover said absences due to the illness leave schools in a difficult situation: they need attendance for funding, but they also need parents to have sick kids stay home so they don’t infect their classmates and cause more absences.

"Part of it is knowing when to keep them home and when it is OK to send them in,” Peckover said. Peckover suggests parents exercise caution as their children recover from the flu and keep them home even if the symptoms are beginning to subside.

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.