The Donna school district Monday joined a growing number of Hidalgo County school systems that have approved additional paid leave for employees isolated because of COVID-19 since the beginning of the spring semester.
The resolution greenlit by Donna’s board approved up to seven days of isolation because of COVID-19 and is retroactive as of Jan. 3.
Other districts in the county, among them Valley View and Edcouch-Elsa, have approved similar measures since the beginning of the spring semester as cases continue to rise and staffing shortages impact area schools.
Donna ISD Superintendent Angela Dominguez said in an email that the resolution approved by the board resembles a COVID-19 leave policy the district had in place last year.
“In the best interest of the health and safety of our employees and students, the Board wanted to ensure that employees who test positive had the time to quarantine and get well without having to use personal days or be docked pay for these days,” Superintendent Angela Domiguez wrote in an email. “We had a similar resolution in the first semester, but it expired in December, so this resolution extended this support with the increase in cases.”
According to its COVID-19 dashboard, the district has 664 active student cases and 167 active staff cases, with another 108 individuals exposed and quarantined.
Cases are being reported at districts around the Valley and around the nation.
“We are definitely feeling the impact of this spike in cases and are doing our best to serve our students and community,” Dominguez wrote. “We offer testing for staff and students and monitor academic supports for students who need to quarantine through remote conferencing. All employees in Donna ISD are helping to cover where needed and it is truly a team effort. Our goal is to maintain in person learning in accordance with guidance from TEA.”
The district vaccinated more than 340 people in a clinic Thursday, she added.
