ANDERSON, Ind. — Students at Anderson Community Schools will not be attending classes on Wednesday after the district announced the closure of all schools for the day.
In a Facebook post around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, the school district announced that all schools will be closed due to a high number of staff absences.
There will be no e-learning for students, the district said.
The school district shared a press release with 13News, saying the decision to close was made after 15%-20% of teachers called off work.
“We are disappointed that these teachers are choosing to do this as it hurts our parents and students,” Superintendent Dr. Joe Cronk said in the press release. “We are appreciative of the vast majority of staff that have continued coming to work as we continue the bargaining process with the Anderson Federation of Teachers [AFT].”
All schools are expected to reopen Thursday, Nov. 4. If that changes, the district will notify parents, guardians and the public.
The announcement comes just a few days after the district had an unexpected e-learning day on Oct. 29 due to a high number of teacher absences.
The district has been in negotiations with the Anderson Federation of Teachers on a new collective bargaining agreement. Under the current proposal, teachers would receive a $2,000 increase in base salary and $10,000 in stipends over the next two years. The district said that despite an increase in health insurance premium, the contract would ensure all staff would see an increase in their take-home pay.