Dear Holley Central School District Families and Staff,
We want to inform you that a second Holley High School student has tested positive for COVID-19. The last day this student was on our campus (MS/HS) was the morning of Wednesday, October 21. The district is unable to legally disclose any further details or personal identifiable information about this student per the federal privacy laws.
Orleans County Department of Health (DOH) has determined that the student was in close contact with our first student who tested positive. The DOH is conducting contact tracing for any other close contacts, and so far, there is only this one other positive case to report. We do, however, have some students and staff members on mandatory quarantine, and they are being tested.
In these situations, it’s important to know some information regarding how we proceed as a district. First of all, we do not do any contact tracing from the district. The health department of the county of residence for the person who tests positive handles that. The school district cooperates and provides information (attendance, schedule, cohort group, bus information, etc.) to the DOH.
The health department makes calls to those in close contact with a person who has tested positive and makes the determination as to whether those individuals should be quarantined. Those put on mandatory quarantine do so for 14 days. If a person (student or staff member) who is on quarantine then tests negative, they still remain on quarantine until the DOH releases them to go back to school or work. If a person tests positive, the DOH moves them from quarantine to “isolation,” the school is then notified, and we have to report the positive case to NYS. The county health department then continues with more contact tracing. This takes time.
In the event that a staff member tests positive, we will cooperate with the health department in their contact tracing procedure as well. We would inform the school community of a positive test result and that staff member would be in isolation for 14 days. If a staff member is in quarantine, but tests negative, we will still inform the parents of the students in direct contact (i.e., in their classroom) with that person, so they know the staff member will be absent for that time period. It would not be our responsibility to determine if anyone else should quarantine or be tested. That decision is made by the health department and/or a person’s medical provider.
I understand that parents want to know information and details regarding cases as soon as possible, as they have concerns for the safety of their children. We all share that same concern. I hope, however, that everyone understands that we have to work within the law and in cooperation with the county and NYS procedures in all these circumstances. I appreciate your patience and understanding that this can take time and caution. I also appreciate that you understand that social media posts and rumors sometimes aren’t accurate, and they can create confusion and misinformation. Thank you for avoiding those as primary sources of information when you're concerned.
Holley CSD will comply with all the legal aspects of how to address both positive COVID-19 cases, as well as students and staff who are put in quarantine, and we will communicate all that we can to families, as soon as it’s possible.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me or to your child’s school administrator, and we’ll do our best to answer questions, and hopefully, lessen concerns.
Stay safe and strong, Holley.
Brian Bartalo
Superintendent of Schools