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School Leaders In 3 Colorado Districts Wrestle With Staffing Shortages, Cancel Classes On Friday

(CBS4) - After months of navigating shifts from in-person to at-home learning, school districts across Colorado are facing a new hurdle.

"Right now, we are suffering from a variety of different types of pressures," said Drew Adams, Director of Talent Development for Adams 14 School District.

Administrators in that district sent a letter to families about schools closing on Friday due to staff shortages, mainly due to a lack of substitutes.

"Everything will be closed, all district offices. It will be similar to if we had a natural disaster some or some other emergency scenario like a snow day where we were unable to provide for students," he said.

They now join Adams 12 Five Star schools and Boulder Valley School District in making that decision.

Randy Barber, chief communications officer for BVSD, believes timing is playing a factor in the need to cancel classes.

"We were coming up to this event which is sort of a floating day between Veterans Day and the weekend. We ended up having a lot of teachers with a leave of absence. It was just too much for us to cover," Barber said.

Each of the districts recognize there will also be an impact to families but hope that teachers and students can use the time off to recharge.

"It's also an opportunity for some students to get caught up and get ahead or rest," Adams said.

While staff shortages will continue to be a problem, both districts -- as well as Adams 12 -- believe closings will not.

"Our teaches have been incredible flexible. While we can't fully anticipate what will happen going forward, we do feel like things on an normal basis are pretty stable," Barber said.

Thursday, which is Veterans Day, was scheduled off for most districts already.

As far as resources available to families, Adams 14 will have all facilities closed. BVSD is working to have a limited number of child care locations open. In Adams 12, they are considering holding a vaccine clinic and are looking for input from the community.

There is a form set up where parents can give their input.

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