Oceanside schools closed Monday and Tuesday amid coronavirus outbreak

Oceanside schools will be closed on Monday and Tuesday because of concerns over the coronavirus. 

Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Harrington said in a letter to residents that she has been in contact with public health and education officials, and decided that closing the schools for the first two days of next week was the best decision. 

"At this time, there are more questions than there are answers," she wrote in the letter. "Therefore, I have made the decision that Oceanside schools will be officially closed on Monday and Tuesday of next week. We will not be transporting to private or parochial schools, BOCES, Barry Tech, or special education placements. It is uncertain what will be required beyond those two days; however, they will at a minimum give me the time to continue to stay connected to those experts and officials in an effort to make the best decisions possible for all members of the Oceanside community."

Harrington noted that school officials built a calendar of 185 days, so the two days lost will not have to be made up. If the school district were to close for more than five days, however, it would start to impact its planned April break. 

The district also sent out a letter from its schools' principals, discussing how students can remain engaged in learning if the coronavirus outbreak affects more school days, and has a page dedicated to COVID-19 information, which can be found here. 

Harrington said officials will continue to monitor the situation, and noted that cleaning and sanitizing efforts are being made in all of the district's buildings during the down time. She encouraged residents to revisit Oceansideschools.org for more information as it becomes available.