Suspected swine flu cases close Grafton High School

By Michaela Stanelun and Elizabeth Cooney, Globe Correspondents

Grafton High School will be let out early today and remain closed on Monday and Tuesday after a high number of students and faculty came down with suspected cases of swine flu.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph F. Connors said that this week brought "five days of escalating absenteeism for staff, faculty, and students."

"We wanted to keep the building open as long as we could run a productive and safe school," Connors said.

Grafton is one of several school districts to contact the state Department of Public Health this week with concerns about high absenteeism rates, spokeswoman Jennifer Manley said this morning. The department offers advice but does not direct schools to close, consistent with guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued in the summer.

Before the school year began, Massachusetts health authorities recommended that schools close only as a last resort during flu season and instead focus on keeping sick students isolated at home. Grafton school and public health officials were in close contact with the state health department before today's action, Manley said.

"It is a decision that is made locally," she said.

At the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, a spokesman said he was aware of only Grafton's decision to close.

"We are absolutely monitoring it" across the state, J.C. Considine said. "It's really a decision that needs to be made locally between the local school district and the local board of health."