Never in all my life do I remember closing a school because of illness,

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Sickness spreads, one area school closed

Evening News staff writer February 20, 2002

St. Catholic School has closed because so many students are ill.

By RAY KISONAS

Hundreds of Monroe students are sick and the high number of absences has

caused at least one school to close its doors.

St. Catholic School, 151 N. Monroe St., shut down for the rest of the

week after more than 20 percent of its students stayed home sick Tuesday.

" Never in all my life do I remember closing a school because of illness, "

said Patti Eason, president of the St. School Advisory Committee. " This

has never happened. "

Kids throughout Monroe have developed flu-like symptoms, bronchitis and

other upper respiratory infections. Mercy Memorial Hospital reported that in

the last three days, its pediatric unit has doubled the normal number of

children admitted.

Monroe High School attendance officials reported higher-than-average

absences with 100 to 150 children staying home. Normally 35 to 40 kids are

absent.

At St. Catholic Central High School, 60 of the 440 students were absent

Tuesday. Today, the number dipped to 50, at the start but could be higher

before the end of the day.

" I'm already seeing kids going home, " said Marilyn Laboe, SMCC attendance

secretary. " We have some kids coming in who have no business being here.

We're being hit hard. "

The decision to close St. 's was not an easy one, Mrs. Eason said. She

said school officials, including Principal Ann Lapinski and parish

pastor the Rev. Sulkowski, met Tuesday and discussed the situation

with the Archdiocese of Detroit before deciding to close the school.

Since school already is out Friday and Monday for winter break, St.

decided to let the kids and teachers have a chance to get better and

stronger and start over next week.

Mrs. Eason, whose daughter is one of the many out sick, said 59 of the 277

students were absent Tuesday, up from 56 on Friday. The fifth-grade class

had 12 of the 34 kids out. Since attendance was low, it didn't make a lot of

sense to keep the school open.

" They can't teach with so many kids out, " Mrs. Eason said, adding that some

children were getting sick, recovering, then getting sick again. She said

some people have called it the " St. 's Flu " because the viruses hit

there hardest.

Lemerand, communication coordinator at Mercy Memorial, said the

hospital's pediatric unit has doubled its admittance in the last few days.

She said the majority of those children are infants and toddlers, many of

whom got sick from viruses passed on by their older brothers and sisters.

Ms. Lemerand said emergency room doctors treated a higher-than-normal number

of children of all ages with a variety of symptoms.

Not all area schools have been hit as hard with the illness. At Monroe

Middle School, the number of absences was about normal, attendance officials

there reported.

©Monroe Evening News 2002