SAN ANTONIO — More than 1,000 staff members for San Antonio's largest school district, Northside Independent School District, did not return to work for Monday, January 3. Of the 1,260 people out, 926 are believed to be teacher positions that require a substitute, the district said.
"As for the sub situation – on an average day we have about an 80% fill rate on our sub jobs. Today we have a 58% fill rate," NISD spokesperson, Barry Perez, told KENS 5. "So, significantly higher rate of jobs not filling that average."
Northside ISD stresses that not all of the absences are COVID-related, Perez said.
"No doubt some are, but others are just as easily for other reasons, too," he said.
Perez said the district expects the shortage of substitutes to resolve by mid-week.
NISD Superintendent Dr. Brian Woods sent a letter to students' families and staff, detailing how NISD is monitoring local health conditions in light of the highly-transmissible omicron variant.
Mask wearing is strongly encouraged at NISD, although not required, unlike San Antonio ISD and Edgewood ISD, where staff, children and visitors must wear face coverings inside school facilities.
Wood noted the district is also continuing to push for families to get vaccinated in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Free COVID-19 testing is available from Metro Health at Farris Stadium and Inselmann Field. Appointments are required.
The district also announced that on Friday, January 7, the San Antonio Food Bank is hosting a mega distribution at Gus Stadium. Families must register in advance on the Food Bank website.