R-9 District sources- Community COVID-19 spread led to parents' decision to remove students from Columbian, at least 18 children and staff tested positive

(Note: The story has been updated to reflect it was 18 students and staff, not just students, who had tested positive.)

Carthage R-9 officials' announcement of a reason for canceling summer school classes at Columbian Elementary was an accurate one noting there had been a large drop in enrollment.

What was not included in the statement was what appears to have caused people to start removing their children from classes- the students who attended the schools are coming from a community that is under siege from COVID-19.

District sources tell the Turner Report that after the district canceled classes for two days at Columbian due to the discovery that two students tested positive for the virus, it was learned that the number of students and staff who had tested positive had grown to 18.

That, coupled with the information circulating in the community about the increase of the spread of the coronavirus led parents to remove their children as a precaution.

Superintendent Mark Baker's announcement of the cancellation of classes at Columbian also noted that two students at the junior high had tested positive for the coronavirus:

We had two students test positive at the junior high. The students and staff in those two rooms were placed in quarantine. There was no need to shut down the entire building as the rooms were cleaned multiple times since the infectious time the students were in summer school.

Please remember, we do not believe the transmission of COVID-19 is due to school contact, only community contacts.

The Carthage community has been hit hard by COVID-19 over the past week with the Jasper County Health Department reporting the total number of cases approaching 200 with a large majority of those cases coming from Carthage.