West Central schools will be closed Monday, November 2 and Tuesday, November 3. Superintendent Dan Zylstra says it’s due to a combination of COVID-19 and an internet outage caused by wind damage.
In a letter to families Sunday, Zylstra said a staff member has tested positive for the coronavirus, and with close contacts in quarantine, there isn’t enough staff to operate the schools safely.
On top of that, Zylstra says high winds toppled the main tower of West Central’s internet service provider. That caused the school to lose 95 percent of its internet capacity and also cut much of the internet service to the surrounding community, preventing teachers and students from taking part in remote learning. Zylstra doesn’t expect the issue to be fixed until at least midday Tuesday.
He says West Central will treat Monday and Tuesday as weather cancellations and will apply for a waiver from the state. Zylstra says he’ll share plans for the rest of the week soon.
