Flu Outbreak Forces Cleveland Schools To Cancel Class

Cleveland Public Schools closed Tuesday because of a flu outbreak.

Superintendent Aaron Espolt said before he called off classes, 15 teachers had already called in sick. In a small district, that's a big number, but, he said even more students are under the weather.    

Espolt said 100 students in the primary school - Pre-K through second grade - were out sick on Friday alone.

He says 36 of those were confirmed flu cases.

The district was out of class for Martin Luther King Day Monday. The superintendent was hoping the long weekend would help, but Espolt said when the teacher sick calls came in, combined with the extreme cold, canceling class was an easy decision.

He said the district has a cleaning protocol when so many students and teachers are sick. Crews will be at the school spending extra time cleaning any spaces the students use to help keep more germs from spreading.

The Oklahoma Department of Health said the flu is linked to 22 deaths since September and more than 1,000 hospitalizations.