School closure decisions rest with state, local officials

OXFORD — In case of an imminent public health threat, such as an outbreak of H1N1, state agencies in consultation with local superintendents have the statutory authority to order the closure of schools, according to Dr. Dora Mills of the Maine Center for Disease Control.

"My understanding is that both Maine (Center for Disease Control/Department of Health and Human Services) and Maine (Department of Education) have the statutory authority to close schools, and we've always figured that if we needed to do so for a public health reason, we would do it in collaboration, as we did with Kennebunk Elementary School last spring," Mills said in an Oct. 19 e-mail to Oxford Hills School District Assistant Superintendent Rick Colpitts.

The issue was raised last week after newly appointed public health officer Samantha Hewey told Norway selectmen that she had the sole jurisdiction to shut down the school in case of an H1N1 outbreak. Hewey, an Oxford resident who is certified as an emergency medical technician, met with the board to introduce herself. She is paid an $800 stipend for her work as a local public health officer for Norway, Oxford and Paris.

Hewey was certified in June by the Maine CDC and completed local public health officer training through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine CDC.

School Superintendent Mark Eastman said the information from Mills was based on a review of state statutes by Assistant Attorney General Paul Gauvreau.

While Eastman said he usually makes the decisions about general school closures in consultations with others, last year he said the decision to close a school in Maine because of suspected H1N1 outbreak, was made at the state level under CDC guidelines.

Assistant Superintendent Rick Colpitts said both CDC and Department of Education statutes indicate that any decisions on school closings be made in a collaborative environment in which state and local officials determine the public health strategy most suitably calculated to protect public health.

ldixon@sunjournal.com