BALDWIN COUNTY, Ga. — Some Central Georgia families have emailed and called 13WMAZ with concerns about school employees reporting to work too soon.
Sabrina Burse spoke to some school leaders to clarify if employees are required to report in Baldwin and Houston Counties.
Someone emailed the 13WMAZ newsroom claiming educators in Houston County are required by the district to report to work daily starting next week.
13WMAZ reached out to Houston County Schools spokesperson Beth McLaughlin to see if that's true. She has not responded yet.
This comes after Governor Brian Kemp ordered schools to remain closed through April 24.
Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Noris Price says staff showing up to work in her district are volunteers.
"No employee is being required to report to work. The first step that we do is to ask for volunteers," said Price.
She says more than 100 volunteers are handling essential functions like preparing and distributing meals to students, transporting those meals, and putting packets together for the 36 percent of students who don't have internet at home.
She says district personnel that handles payroll shows up, too.
"We don't want anybody who is sick. We don't want anybody who is in the at-risk categories that have been identified and we don't want anyone who has someone at home that they live with that is in those at risk categories," said Price.
It's all in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Price says only five people are allowed in the schools at one time.
"From day one, it's been the safety and well-being of our students, our staff, and our families. We are not going to put anyone in harm's way," said Price.
Superintendent Price says the janitorial staff is also disinfecting the schools while they remain closed.
Price says she also has tentatively scheduled a professional cleaning company to come and deep clean schools on April 23.
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