Over 3,000 Eagle Pass Independent School District Students Did Not Attend School Classes during First Week of January 2022
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
Eagle Pass Independent School District (EPISD) Superintendent Samuel Mijares announced on Friday, January 7, 2022, that over 3,000 students did not attend school classes during the first week of January 2-7, 2022, approximately 20 percent of total students registered in the District.
Mijares noted only 80 percent of students enrolled at EPISD attended school classes during the first week of January 2022. The EPISD website states the District has over 14,300 students enrolled, 868 teachers, and 1,932 staff employees in 24 campuses.
Mijares added that the over 3,000 students who did not attend school during the first week of January is due to many reasons, but one reason may be illnesses due to COVID-19 among the students or within their households.
Mijares reported participating in a telephone conference with Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath together with all the public school districts on Friday, January 7, and Morath advised the Districts they can not close schools because of COVID-19, and, if they did, the Districts would have to make up the loss of school days during the Spring Break, holidays, or extend the school year into mid-June.
“We are working daily to monitor the [COVID-19] cases within the District, and we will be reporting them to TEA on Monday, January 10 in the afternoon,” said Mijares.
COVID-19 infections are spreading like wildfire in Maverick County just like in Texas and the United States. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported on Saturday, January 8, 184 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and no new fatalities in Maverick County, averaging a daily 176 positive cases and less than one fatality during the week of January 2-8, bringing the cumulative total to 14,932 positive cases and 418 fatalities to date.
Texas reported 49,172 new confirmed positive cases and 94 fatalities on January 8, averaging a daily 59,736 new positive cases and 89 fatalities for the week of January 2-8, 2022, bringing the cumulative total to 4,996,914 positive cases and 76,770 fatalities statewide.
United States reported 443,684 new confirmed positive cases and 676 fatalities on January 8, averaging a daily 656,478 new positive cases and 1,524 fatalities for the week of January 2-8, bringing the cumulative total to 59,848,908 positive cases and 835,835 fatalities.
Mijares advised parents of school children to not send them to school if they are sick or ill or if anyone in their household has a confirmed positive COVID-19 infection. “We do not want parents to send their sick children to school because they will infect other students with whatever illness they may have,” said Mijares. He noted that there are no mandatory mandate for students to wear a face mask, but noted approximately 99.5 percent of EPISD students voluntarily wear face masks.
Mijares noted EPISD is hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics throughout local school campuses for children eligible to get one subject to parental consent and undertaking extensive preventive disinfection measures at each school.
Many parents have expressed concerns regarding the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the significant increase of new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Maverick County, requesting that the EPISD go to remote virtual instruction to avoid the spread of new COVID-19 cases within the District and community.
The Crystal City Independent School District in Crystal City, Texas went to remote virtual instruction temporarily due to the high rate of COVID-19 cases in Zavala County.
The Carrizo Springs Independent School District in Carrizo Springs, Texas announced on Friday, January 7, they decided to close school district facilities starting Monday, January 10, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Mijares noted the District will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation with TEA and local governmental entities and Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center, which is the only hospital in Maverick County for 60,000 residents.
