Local schools to close due to coronavirus, county education office says

Fallbrook area schools will be shuttered for several weeks amid ongoing concerns about spreading the novel coronavirus, it was announced today.

The San Diego County Office of Education announced that more than two dozen school districts around the county will close until April.

Fallbrook Union Elementary School District and Fallbrook Union High School District will both close campuses through April 10, Bonsall Unified School District will close schools through April 6 and Vallecitos School District, which serves Rainbow, will close its sole campus through April 14, according to the county office of education.

Fallbrook Union Elementary announced plans to provide free meals to all children under age 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, beginning on Monday, March 16.

Locations for meal pick up starting Monday are:

• Maie Ellis Elementary

400 W Elder St, Fallbrook, CA 92028

• William H Fraizer Elementary

1835 Gum tree Ln, Fallbrook, CA 92028

• La Paloma Elementary

300 Heald Ln, Fallbrook, CA 92028

• Potter Jr. High School

1743 Reche Rd, Fallbrook, CA 92028

The Fallbrook Union High School District announced a similar program, with meals to be made available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the entrance to the Fallbrook Union High School campus, 2234 S. Stage Coach Ln in Fallbrook.

Fallbrook Union Elementary also announced its regularly-scheduled school board meeting, planned for March 16, will be conducted by teleconference.

Meanwhile, Palomar College, which serves many North County community college students, announced it will move most classes online as of March 30, following its March 23-27 spring break.

"These include classes at the San Marcos campus, as well as the education centers in Rancho Bernardo, Escondido and Fallbrook," the college said in an email announcement. "To prepare for this initiative, faculty are being provided two non-instructional days on March 18 and March 19."

The announcements come a day after local school district officials said they did not have any immediate intentions to close schools.

The Bonsall, Vallecitos, and Fallbrook elementary and high school districts had said as late as Thursday afternoon that there were no plans to cancel classes.

"The decision to close schools, if necessary, will be made in consultation with our local public health department and the CDC," Trench, the FUESD spokesperson, said on Thursday. "At this time, it is not recommended by public health experts that K-12 schools close as a preventative measure. If these health organizations see the need to close one or more schools at any time, we are ready to do so."

By the end of the day Friday, all San Diego County and Riverside County schools had announced weeks-long closures.