Sullivan Board of Education votes 4-2 for virtual instruction due to COVID community spread

The Sullivan County Board of Education voted 4-2 Thursday night to accept Director of Schools David Cox’s recommendation of making all classes in the system virtual beginning Monday.

Instruction will remain online through the holiday break. Classes will return to virtual learning upon classes going back into session Jan. 4 and staying that way until Jan. 18. At that point, the board will reevaluate the arrangement.

Cox says he conferred with local and state health officials who are forecasting two more spiking waves of coronavirus in the coming weeks because of holiday gatherings. Cox said their data showed cases going up after each major holiday or break during 2020.

The director also reported that 29 percent of school staff is now in isolation or quarantined due to the virus. In some cases this week, Cox said schools had no cafeteria workers to prepare meals.

Board member Randall Gilmore also confirmed the death of Colonial Heights Elementary guidance counselor Cindy Torbett last week. Torbett had been hospitalized after testing positive for the virus that he said she contracted from outside the school.

(IMAGE: Sullivan County Schools / Board of Education/ YouTube)