Sierra Vista schools plan to stay open despite flu

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) — School administrators in Sierra Vista are not expecting to close schools this week due to illnesses.

Last week, public schools in Sierra Vista experienced unusually high absentee rates as students stayed home with flu-like symptoms suspected to be caused by the swine flu virus.

Sierra Vista Unified School District Superintendent Brett Agenbroad said absentee rates declined over the course of the week and no schools were closed or are planned to be closed.

Agenbroad said Buena High School was one of the campuses with a high absentee rate last week, but attendance on Friday was better than in the middle of the week.

Buena high Wednesday had an absentee rate of 21.5 percent, versus about 17 percent on Friday. The rate for an average day is between 2 percent and 4 percent.

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Information from: Sierra Vista Herald, http://www.svherald.com