BENNINGTON – The new school year was set to get underway in Bryan County in the Bennington school system on Monday. But that is not going to happen.
The planned opening of the 2020-2021 academic year has been moved back a day to Tuesday.
The Bennington ISD announced on its Facebook page on Sunday there will be a delay to the start on the new school because a staff member has been exposed to COVID-19:
“Students will NOT start school on Monday, Aug. 3 as we had planned. A member of our staff has been exposed to COVID-19 in a severely high-risk situation, and this has put our staff at risk for spreading the virus to our students.
“This staff member will be tested on Monday, and we will make adjustments, if necessary, based on those results. We plan to start school with students on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and the Bryan County Health Department also recommends we wait an extra day to assess the risks and determine whether our staff was exposed to the virus. We knew there would likely be disruptions in our school calendar this year, and we regret to inform parents and students there will be NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY.
“Our teachers will use Monday as a virtual day, and our teachers will begin contacting parents as we begin to implement our virtual learning plans. We look forward to starting school, but the safety of our students must always be our top priority. We apologize for this inconvenience, and we ask for your continued understanding and support.”