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The schedule for events and ceremonies like graduation still remain up in the air

School closed until April

By Michael Butler

Following the lead of Gov. Kay Ivey's declaration of a state of emergency in wake of the coronavirus last week, the Tallassee City School System has closed its doors.

In Ivey's statement, the request was to close schools across Alabama on Wednesday. Tallassee originally chose that option but later decided to make the closure immediate.

"I think it was a no brainer. We were not going to have kids here," Tallassee City Schools superintendent Wade Shipman said of the move to not go on Monday. "Families and children are likely not to come to school when they're given the choice to not have it count against them. They're going to err on the side of caution. Someone told me that one of the classes in Eclectic had just a few kids in it on Monday."

Students in Tallassee are scheduled to return on Monday, April 6. March 23-27 has already been alloted for spring break. Shipman said the situation going forward is fluid.

"This is really a day by day decision making process. It started out that we shouldn't be in groups of 500 or more. Yesterday the statement was we shouldn't be in groups of 10 or more."

Some school personnel have been working during the down period, but on Wednesday all campuses and the board office will be closed to the public.

"I think we're doing the only thing we can do. We have to be careful about letting fear rule the day. We have to live our lives. At the same time, we're asking people to make conscious choices."

Another question is will the school year be extended.

"If we get beyond these three weeks and we do think we're going to finish the school year, then I think there's a really good chance that it gets extended. If it lingers into August, it won't matter how long we extend it. Anytime we start talking about 'what ifs,' there are too many factors we don't know at this time."

The March 17 school board meeting has been postponed.