School Closure

March 13, 2020
Dear West Branch Families and Staff,

This afternoon, Governor Wolf made the serious decision to close all K-12 school districts
starting Monday, March 16, 2020 for a period of 10 business days in response to the Covid-19
Coronavirus. Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, West Branch will cease providing all services to
all children/students. This includes all special education and related services. All meetings,
activities, athletics, and related school events are postponed and subject to reschedule or
cancellation. No community use of the school facilities will be permitted during this time. No
transportation will be provided. No before or after school services. Everything, in short, is
cancelled or postponed.

School personnel and students are prohibited from entering school facilities; however, a limited
number of essential staff may be able to perform essential functions such as running payroll,
cleaning facilities, maintaining communication systems, and providing security as needed. This
is to be determined.
We are exploring the option to be able to provide school lunches during the period that we are
closed if approved by the USDA and Department of Education. More information will follow.
It is uncertain at this time, absent clear direction from the Commonwealth, about the status of
these days and whether they will need to be made up in the future. As we learn more, I will
continue to update you.

Please trust that I am doing my best to keep everyone informed as new and additional
information is received. We know you will have questions. We will provide you additional
contact information in the future about how and when administration may be reached.
Thank you, stay safe, and know that we will move beyond this unprecedented time.
Sincerely,

Michelle Dutrow
District Superintendent