Swine flu outbreak closes 2 charter schools

Two Hillsborough County charter schools are closing today and Monday because so many students and teachers have swine flu.

The decision affects Literacy Leadership Technology Charter High and a middle school, Literacy Leadership Technology Academy, which share a campus at 6771 Madison Ave., Tampa. The schools' board and administrators made the decision Thursday.

"The best thing is to clear the deck," said Curt Miller, founder and chief executive officer of both schools. "Give everybody a chance to rebound."

The middle and high school had a total of 45 students absent Thursday. Miller said he didn't know whether all the students had swine flu, but a high absentee count is 10 to 12 students, he said.

Fifteen students went to the nurse's office with flu-like symptoms one day this week, Miller said.

The schools had seven teachers out sick Thursday with flu-like symptoms and three who weren't feeling well during the school day, Miller said.

One teacher was diagnosed with the swine flu last week and now has pneumonia, Miller said.

The schools called the substitute list, but many of the substitute teachers were sick or had children who were sick. The charter school uses a substitute list that is separate from the larger list used by the Hillsborough County school district.

The schools have been using bleach wipes to clean doorknobs, door handles, student desks and tables and have done additional cleanings of the restrooms to help stop the spread of the flu.

A cleaning crew will do preventive disinfecting at the school, Miller said.

The schools have a Tampa mailing address but are near Riverview and mostly serve students from Riverview, Apollo Beach, South Shore, Brandon Valrico and Seffner.

The middle school was formed five years ago, and the high school is in its second year. This is the first year the high school has operated on the same campus as the middle school.

The middle school has an enrollment of 240 students; the high school has 110 students. There are 28 teachers and 12 staff members in the two schools.

The two days off will be made up by students and staff. The school will have classes on Jan. 18 and Feb. 5, both of which were to have been days off.

Midterm examinations, which were scheduled to begin Monday, will be pushed back to the week of Nov. 2. Sports programs will be rescheduled, Miller said.

Miller said he sent a letter home with students and met parents outside who were picking up their children. He said parents received the news well and were supportive.

Once school opens on Tuesday, parents should keep students home if they exhibit flu-like symptoms, he said.

The number of Florida deaths linked to swine flu has risen to 131, according to a weekly report issued Thursday by the Florida Department of Health.