Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

ST. JOHN - Desks sit empty and the gym is silent as students in the St. John-Endicott School District stay home in quarantine.

The district closed the schools on Oct. 1 and anticipates reopening them on Monday, Oct. 11.

The closure was due to a high rate of absent students and staff. It's a measure to reduce the spread of COVID and other illnesses.

"There were days where we were reaching up to 30% to 40% (absent)," said Superintendent Suzanne Schmick. "It varied on any given day ... We are finding ourselves struggling."

The state set a level for closing schools for COVID quarantine when 25...