Mix flu-like illnesses in with the first month of school, and you get double the usual student absentee rate, according to Fayette County School System head nurse Debbie King.

Presenting a chart of absences ranging from Aug. 20 through Sept. 9, King told Board of Education members Monday night that systemwide absences ranged from a low of 2 percent on Aug. 20 to a high of 6 percent on Sept. 4. On Sept. 8 and 9, the absentee rate was approximately 4 percent.

“We’ve seen about 12,000 students during the first month of school,” King said. “This is nearly double the norm.”

The August Health Services report showed that 12,002 students had been seen in school clinics. Of those, 1,536 were sent home. The number of students sent home last month ranged from four at North Fayette Elementary to 147 at Whitewater Middle School.

Those schools with the largest number of students sent home sick also included Starr’s Mill High with 116, Booth Middle with 106, Rising Starr Middle with 97, McIntosh High with 96, Huddleston Elementary with 90 and Flat Rock Middle with 85.

King noted that, as usual, the appearance of flu and flu-like symptoms will be cyclical and come in waves every five to seven days. She said school nurses at the end of each day are reporting the number of student and teacher absences.

Fayette schools near the beginning of the school year did see several schools with absentee rates of 10 percent. Last week was a good week, King said, with all schools reporting less than a 10 percent absentee rate.

A number of alerts have been posted on the school system website in English and Spanish since the beginning of school, she said. Additional measures include letters being sent home to parents, information posted on Channel 24 and Communicable Disease Alert Updates sent via email to administrators, principals and clinic staff.

A range of hygiene measures are in place to help stop the spread of flu and flu-like symptoms, King said. Students are being reminded of those measures and are being assessed for illness and sent to the clinic for evaluation if needed.

Classroom surfaces are being cleaned daily with an approved disinfectant as are school buses, she said. Face masks are also available for high-risk students and staff, such as students with specific medical conditions along with nurses or teachers who are pregnant.

King said the action plan contains a wide range of precautionary and response items designed to bolster communication between school staff and parents, provide surveillance of affected students and staff and collaborate with local and district Health Department staff.

Concerning the upcoming Flu-mist treatment for seasonal flu, King said schools will be sending a notification letter home for parents on Sept. 19.

The Flu Free Schools Program will be piloted at seven elementary schools during the week of Oct. 19-23. Those parents who agree to having their children receive the Flu-mist inhaler will be contacted by Health Department staff, King said, adding that she was uncertain at this time about the cost of the treatment.

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