PERU — Swine flu appears to have closed Peru Central School.

The School District will be closed Friday because of a high number of faculty and staff absences.

It is the first North Country school to close due to the flu that is sweeping this area. According to state and local health officials, H1N1, commonly called swine flu, is the only flu identified in New York at this time.

Peru already has seen much of its population out of school, with nearly half the students at the High School and Middle School out earlier this week.

SICK STAFF

“Although in the Middle and High School student attendance is improving, we are finding that the staff and faculty instances of illness are increasing,” Peru Central School Superintendent A. Paul Scott said Thursday, “and based on an assessment, at this point in time, we are not going to have the capacity tomorrow to transport, supervise and instruct students.”

Scott said he did not know the total number of faculty and staff absent, saying the district does not track those numbers the same as it does with students.

All classes and programs will resume Monday, according to Scott.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’

When student absences peaked earlier this week, Scott had said the School District would remain open unless employee absences increased to the point where students could not be transported, supervised and instructed.

As student absences decreased, the number of employees who were out soared.

“I cannot willingly put us in a position where we have students not being adequately served in any of those three key components of the school day,” Scott said.

“It is at unprecedented levels.”