Published: October 23, 2009 12:42 pm      

Panhandle schools latest to close due to illness

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — The tiny Texline school district in the Texas Panhandle shut down Friday because of illness, making it the latest of more than 40 districts around the state to close campuses this year because of the flu.

Most of the 100 or so schools in those districts that shut down over the past month or so have recently reopened, according to the Texas Education Agency. But the Panhandle has been hit hard recently, with some or all campuses in at least eight communities closed.

Local and state health officials said most flu cases are the H1N1 strain.

The entire Cumby, Higgins, Kerens, Sam Rayburn and Trinidad districts remained closed Friday, affecting about 1,800 students.

Texline, on the Texas-New Mexico border in northwest corner of the state, is a community of about 500.

Texline Superintendent Gary B. Laramore said the district will reopen Wednesday.

“The best thing to do is to give everyone time to stay home,” he told the Amarillo Globe-News.

According to the TEA Web site, 35 districts have completely shut down this year and another 10 have partially closed. Those figures could be low, though, because districts are not required to report their closures to the state.