"An increased number of students are absent or have become ill at school with gastroenteritis," said Michael Huntley, a parent. Huntley read us a letter that kids at Fairmount Elementary School were given on Thursday to take home to their parents. "Symptoms of gastroenteritis include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and/or stomach cramps."
Jennifer Cruz knew something was going around at her son's school, but says she wasn't notified. She said, "I heard yesterday, a parent saying that about 28 kids were out yesterday."
Her son was sick last week. Cruz said, "The day before Thanksgiving he was fine and then on Thanksgiving he woke up really sick from his stomach so he wasn't able to eat any turkey or any of that."
An administrator with the school told me nearly 150 students, and some faculty members, stayed home on Friday. The school's aftercare program ran as scheduled, but with some precautions.
"We were given masks because something like 150 children are sick so we want to help them as much as we can, but we also want to protect ourselves at the same time," said Rebecca Muller from the Glo Aftercare program.
Some of those students may have been kept home as a precaution.
The health department is advising Fairmount on how to sanitize the campus over the weekend. It also sent an inspector to the school on Friday. The school administrator also told me their lunch room was, in her words, "up to par."
Since Fairmount is being cleaned over the weekend, school is expected to go on as usual Monday morning, although parents are urged to keep their kids home if they have any symptoms of the virus.
