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School reopens earlier than planned
Coyote Creek gets clean bill of health

by Geoff Gillette

Students were back in class Wednesday at Coyote Creek Elementary School, only two days into an expected weeklong closure. The school and its attached day care facility were closed down after two students were diagnosed as "probable" cases of the H1N1 swine flu.

The district dispatched a sanitizing crew to Coyote Creek on Monday and Tuesday to spend two full days sanitizing and disinfecting the school following the school's closure. Once the cleaning was finished and the school was checked out, health officials advised reopening Wednesday.

"We can't wait to welcome back all of our students and staff members several days earlier than expected," said Marsha Tokuyoshi, principal at Coyote Creek Elementary. "Obviously, we will still remain vigilant regarding students who may feel ill, but we are excited to get back to the business of teaching and learning."

The School District is still recommending that any student who exhibits flu-like symptoms stay home until they have been symptom-free for at least 24 hours, and advising families to see their physician if members of the household exhibit symptoms.

State and local officials continue to monitor the spread of the H1N1 virus, which has now caused the closure of 14 schools in the Bay Area.

District spokesman Terry Koehne said use of the term "probable" means they have not been confirmed through the state health department, but there is high confidence that the cases will be found to be swine flu. "I have heard of one case coming back with a negative result, but mostly 'probable' means 90-95 percent that it will come back confirmed," he explained.

Koehne said the district has posted information and Frequently Asked Questions about H1N1 and what to do in the case of school closings on its Web site: www.srvusd.net.