Blabbermouth

School District might lose Millions of Dollars because of the Swine Flu

2009-05-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

After learning more and more about the swine flu in New Braunfels Ive been looking at the New Braunfels' Herald Zeitung (which is the local newspaper). This is my newest findings:

State Rep. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, filed a resolution in the House asking that Commissioner Scott waive the 180-day requirement for the 14 school districts in the state that closed to abate the possible spread of swine flu, and allow those school districts to receive full state funding for the school year.

Earlier in the story it stated that New Braunfels ISD would lose almost $2 million and that Comal ISD would lose almost $4 million.

I personally believe that the schools should get the waiver. Yes, the students did not meet the required days but it was for a health reason. The schools closed down to stop the spreading of the Swine Flu.

Smith said having to make up the missed days also would create other obstacles.

New Braunfels is a tourist town and many of the jobs at the restaurants and water attractions are students from New Braunfels. This will cause problems for the local businesses.

New Braunfels and Comal Schools Closed

2009-04-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

After looking around on Facebook this week, I noticed that many of my friends from back home had been talking about the schools being closed down for a few days. I looked more into it and found out that there has been over 100 cases of influenza report which could end up being Swine Flu.

In the past week, 140 cases of Type A influenza have been confirmed in the county, many of them students and more than 100 of them within 24 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I asked my mother if her school was being closed due to the fact that so many cases are popping up all around Seguin. She informed me that her school is trying to making it through this week since it is TAKS week for the Middle School students in Texas. I decided to look for some information about what New Braunfels and Comal School districts will be doing on this matter. Luckily it talked about it in the same article that I have linked to earlier.

The Texas Education Agency is working with the Comal and New Braunfels districts to reschedule the tests, which must be taken under state law, spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said. She said districts can apply for a waiver so they don't have to make up the missed days of school.

I think that this will make the end of the school year more stressful on the middle school students but right now they are enjoying the little break. But the town is trying to keep the flu from spreading by keeping the city pool at Landa Park closed.

Another big water attraction in New Braunfels is the Number 1 water park Schlitterbahn, which open this past weekend.

Schlitterbahn and other companies are erring on the side of caution. In Comal County, where authorities have closed schools and urged residents to avoid large gatherings, employers are scrambling to keep their business productive while remaining flexible for workers who need to attend to their kids

Schlitterbahn is going to stay open but not the whole park.

Schlitterbahn, for example, planned to open only the part of the park where the water is chlorinated — in part as a safeguard against the virus, but also because it requires less staff, spokesman Jeffrey Siebert said.

Along with all the closures the local HEB is asking that if an employee is staying home from school they ask that you stay home from work as well.

Hopefully this will be under control soon. I know that me and some friends that are from that area have decided to not go home anything time soon since the Huntsville area does not seem to be affected as bad as our hometowns.

Swine Flu in Guadalupe county

2009-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Many have heard about the Swine Flu spreading through Guadalupe county. Which is the county outside of San Antonio to Seguin and New Braunfels, Texas. School Districts are having to take action and here is what I have found on it:

On Saturday, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City school officials closed all the
schools in the district after the State Health Department ordered them shut down
for at least one week.
The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District is conducting a major cleanup at each of their campuses.Workers inside Byron P. Steele High School donned masks and gloves and began cleaning the school from top to bottom.Custodians told News 4 WOAI they are using a heavy duty disinfectant to wipe down every classroom and common area in the district's 14 campuses. There are especially targeting desks, counter tops, door knobs and floors.They are also changing air filters at each campus for the safety of students and staff.

My mother is a teacher at one of the two middle school in the Seguin School District and she has informed me that they are taking action by not allowing any students from the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District to attend the Seguin High School Prom. The Seguin School District has made a plain for if the flu does infect any of the students.

First Blog

2009-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

My professor for my Writing for the Mass Media class is making our class start a blog. I have only done Xanga, Facebook and Myspace blogs so this should be a new experience.