Canton Harbor High School closes due to staffing shortage, other schools requiring masks

CANTON – Canton Harbor High School students are catching up on schoolwork from home for a second consecutive school day.

The high school at 1731 Grace Ave. NE announced early Wednesday that it would be closed due to a staff shortage and that students who have a computer and internet access could work on their missing assignments.

The public school, which serves 140 students ages 14 to 21 who need help earning the credits they need to graduate high school in a nontraditional school setting, also canceled classes on Tuesday due to a shortage of staff.

A message left for Canton Harbor Administrator Steven Nichols was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Canton Harbor is the first school in Stark County to close its entire building due to COVID-19-related staffing issues. Other school districts have closed individual classrooms due to a lack of staff.

Some local schools and districts, including Canton Harbor, Canton Local, Green and Louisville, have reinstituted mask requirements for students due to the surge in community COVID-19 cases.

Canton Harbor had been among the last schools in Stark County to return to in-person learning last school year. Students had learned online from March 2020 to March 2021 due to concerns with the coronavirus and staffing.

Nichols told The Canton Repository in March 2021 that the school has fewer than 20 employees and struggles to get substitutes.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton Harbor High School closed due to staffing shortage