Clayton County Schools officials said Wednesday the district could return to all virtual learning if Georgia’s gas shortage worsens.
The south metro Atlanta school system’s leaders said they will monitor efforts to get the Colonial Pipeline back up and running before making a decision. The pipeline was shut down over the weekend because of a ransomware attack.
If it is not operational soon, all Clayton students would go back to remote education beginning next week, district officials said in a press release. School would remain virtual until the end of the academic year, which is May 25.
“As a school system, it is always our goal to uplift our community and, in fully recognizing the challenges associated with the abrupt rising costs of gasoline and availability for our families and employees, we must make decisions in the best interest of our community,” a press release from the school district says.
Panicked motorists have flooded gas stations across the metro area since the pipeline was taken off line Saturday. The rush has pushed gas prices above $3 a gallon.
Other metro school systems are keeping an eye on the gas crunch, but none has followed Clayton’s example so far.
“We are closely watching for any impact and have taken steps to make sure our bus fleet has enough fuel to meet the needs of our students,” Cobb Schools leaders in an email.
A statement from Fulton County Schools said: “We are asking transportation, maintenance, warehouse, and school police to only fuel as needed. If the shortage continues, we will have to reassess.”
Clayton County was the last district in metro Atlanta to bring students back to school for in-person classes. The district welcomed elementary students back in April, but has kept high schools and most middle schools all-virtual.
The discussion over returning to a virtual-only classroom comes as the school system has closed in-person instruction at six schools in the past two weeks. COVID-19 infections forced Sequoyah Middle, Mt. Zion Primary and Unidos Dual Language, Harper, Callaway and Morrow elementary schools to return to remote learning.
“Given the uncertainty of this situation, district officials encourage parents/guardians to begin preparations relative to virtual learning at home as well as childcare needs,” the school district press release said.
Staff writers Kristal Dixon, Vanessa McCray and Alia Malik contributed to this report.
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