Two school districts in Pettis County have canceled school the rest of the week due to illness-related reasons.
On Wednesday, Sedalia School District 200 posted on its Facebook page that due to inclement weather and staff shortages, classes will be canceled on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21. The current forecast is calling for wind chills to be between -5 and -10 over the next two days. The post states there were 108 staff members out on Wednesday due to illness and other personal reasons, with only 21 substitute teachers available.
Typically, when Sedalia 200 cancels school, the Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Missouri are also closed. However, the Club posted on its Facebook page Wednesday night that it would host drop-in days for registered members from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the downtown location in the First Baptist Church basement, 200 E. Sixth St. Members should bring a sack lunch.
On Tuesday, the Pettis County R-V (Northwest) School District also announced on its website that due to excessive absences related to illness, classes would be AMI (alternative methods of instruction) the rest of the week instead of in-person.
Many schools and districts across the state have closed multiple times since the beginning of the spring semester due to excessive student and staff absences because of illness and not enough substitute staff members to fill the empty spots. Several area schools near Pettis County like Marshall, Warrensburg and Knob Noster have all closed due to the same reasons.
