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Chickasha board approves one-time emergency leave after wide staff illness
Summary
The Board of Education approved an emergency leave day for all staff after a spike in employee illnesses left many positions unfilled; district leaders said the action was based on existing emergency-leave policy tied to prior COVID-era protocols.
The Board of Education of Chickasha Public Schools voted to declare a one-time emergency leave for district employees after administrators reported a widespread outbreak of staff illnesses that left essential positions unfilled.
Superintendent (name not specified) told the board the district reached the threshold for emergency action when absenteeism among essential staff — including teachers, paraprofessionals, transportation and child nutrition employees — produced a high unfilled rate for substitute coverage. "We hit that on Wednesday last week, which is 30% of our essential staff members out primarily looking at teaching staff," the superintendent said during the discussion.
Board members and administrators said the immediate goal was to deep-clean and sanitize multiple campuses and to protect students and staff from further spread. The superintendent said custodial shortages hampered normal operations, adding that district administrators and volunteers performed site-by-site cleaning work across campuses before the leave day.
Board member Cara (full name not specified) said she would support the emergency leave only reluctantly and requested the record show she did not want the district to use the authority again lightly; she reported the fiscal effect as approximately $70,000 in payroll cost as a reason for tightening future triggers. "I don't ever wanna have to make this decision again as a board member," she said.
Administrators told the board the district will propose statewide-standardized thresholds and an updated protocol for when emergency leave may be used, drawing on the district's return-to-learn/COVID-era plans and counsel guidance. District staff said alternatives such as a virtual instruction day were considered but that leaders selected emergency leave to allow deep cleaning and to limit exposure while reducing on-campus staffing burdens.
Motion and vote: Board member Cliff moved to approve the emergency leave declaration; board member Curtis seconded. The board called the roll and the motion carried.
Why this matters: Administrators said the emergency leave was intended as a rare, contingency measure when staffing levels make in-person instruction unsafe or ineffective; board members tasked staff with drafting clearer, higher-threshold guidance so the district would not need to repeat the measure.
Looking ahead: District leaders said they will bring a written protocol back to the board for review and will discuss calendar and make-up-day options at the next board meeting.
