Janesville schools plan for flu, too
JANESVILLE — The Janesville School District is in the midst of revising its rules for handling pandemic flu and other emergencies.
A $250,000 federal grant is paying for 18 months of planning scheduled to conclude in December.
The grant required that a plan for pandemic flu be put in place.
Mat Haeger, manager of health services, said the district now will have forms on hand to inform parents about a pandemic and advise them of precautions to take.
The plan will spell out what needs to be cleaned and/or disinfected in a school if the school is closed, Haeger said.
Haeger said he heard from schools in the Milwaukee area that recently closed for swine flu that it wasn’t clear to custodial staff how they needed to clean.
The new plan will detail how school authorities would contact and coordinate with other organizations, such as the county health department, Haeger said.
The plan will lay out the district’s pandemic prevention measures, preparedness measures and how the district would recover, Haeger said.
Response, for example, will specify that the district monitor attendance and keep up with federal and state public health guidance, and communicate any changes to the schools.
The district also is developing a plan for continuing education of students if school buildings are closed, Haeger said.
A big help will be a new, automated parent-notification system that is slated to go online in September. The system will be able to send out phone and e-mail messages to parents in a matter of minutes, officials said.
The cost of the system—not covered by the grant—is about $24,000 a year.
The planning also will update procedures for a variety of other emergencies, including evacuation sites, said Kristin Hesselbacher, project coordinator.
Staff has been trained in updated procedures, and emergency response teams are being formed for each building, Hesselbacher said.
A school safety council has been formed as part of the grant and will guide planning into the future, Hesselbacher said.
May 17, 2009 at 10:17 p.m.
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What a strange question. What is the point? If grant money is available for this endeavor, doesn't it make sense for Janesville Schools to save themselves money and apply for it? That's what the grant money is allocated for -- so local school districts will move ahead and make these plans.
May 17, 2009 at 5:18 p.m.
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It's funny Janesville Schools needed a grant to develop a plan. Did Milton need a grant to write their plan?
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