IUP is being seen as the root cause of the recent spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in Indiana County, and that has some k-12 school district superintendents concerned.
In mid-August the Coronavirus cases were on a steep decline in Indiana County with the positivity rate dipping under 5%. When IUP students returned the total case count in Indiana County was approximately 425. In less than a month, the number has mushroomed to 568, with the majority of the positive cases being IUP students. The spike has caught the attention of the PA Dept. of Education and in a check with all Indiana County School District Superintendents, many are not happy, as the concentration of cases is in the Indiana Borough/White Township area, while other areas continue to have a low concentration of Covid-19 cases.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has had conference calls with area superintendents, and there will be another one coming on Monday. Homer-Center Superintendent Curtis Whitesell said administrators have explained the situation, and while the PDE could recommend at-home virtual learning, the decision would likely rest with the individual districts.
Blairsville-Saltsburg interim superintendent Phillip Martel has said that while the local K-12 schools have done well, IUP has failed them, and research done by Your Hometown Station would prove that out. In a study of positivity rate and zip codes within each of the 8 Indiana County School Districts, all area schools have gotten off to a safe start, with few exceptions. Individually, the positivity rate within the boundaries of all schools are under 5%, however in Indiana, that’s not the case due to the IUP surge. Combined, our eight county schools have had only six cases since the start of the school year.
School District Cases
1. Blairsville-Saltsburg School District: 0 since start of school year
School District Communities: 1973 tests, 101 total cases since March (0.05)
2. United School District: 2 cases since start of school year
School District Communities: 484 tests, 13 cases since March (0.02)
3. Purchase Line School District: 0 cases since start of school year.
School District Communities: 771 tests, 0 confirmed cases. (0.00)
4. Penns Manor School District: 1 case since start of school year
School District Communities: 277 tests, 16 confirmed cases (0.05)
5. Marion Center School District: 0 cases since start of school year
School District Communities: 631 tests, 31 confirmed cases (0.04)
6. Homer-Center School District: 2 cases since start of school year, both have returned to school
School District Communities: 758 tests, 45 confirmed cases. (0.05)
7. Indiana School District: 1 case since start of school year
School District Communities: 3,696 tests, *282 confirmed cases (0.08)
*87 IUP cases in 15701 and 15705 zip codes.
