DIXFIELD — Some clinics planned for schools in the Western Foothills School District have been rescheduled because H1N1 flu vaccine wasn’t received in time, Superintendent Tom Ward told the board at Monday night’s meeting.

He also said that absenteeism in one of the district’s four elementary schools has risen to 15 percent, a number that requires a report to the state, while such rates are rising districtwide. He did not identify the school.

“We’re being very careful,” he said. “We won’t consider closing a school unless a 40 percent absenteeism rate is reached.”

There are exceptions to that statement, however.

If too few substitutes for ill teachers and bus drivers are available, then that could trigger a school closure, he said.

He said so far, only three or four identified cases of H1N1 have been found among students, but not every child is tested.

In response to a question by board member Bruce Ross about methods taken to get classroom work to sick students, Ward said administration is looking into allowing students to “Skype” into their classrooms. “Skyping” means a person can access live action through computers at home.

“Getting work home to students won’t be easy no matter what we do,” he said.

A clinic that had been planned for Dirigo Elementary School on Nov. 7 to serve all schools in the Dirigo region, was canceled because the vaccine did not arrive.

It has been rescheduled to Saturday, Nov. 14, from 8 to 11 a.m. On the same day, a clinic is also scheduled from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Mountain Valley Middle School to serve students from the Mountain Valley region. The Buckfield region clinic is set for 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 21 at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.

Ward said a makeup clinic will likely be scheduled after Nov. 14 for those Mountain Valley and Dirigo students who were unable to attend their area’s clinic.

Ward said the community has come together to ensure that all students whose parents want them to be vaccinated receive the vaccine. He said Med-Care Ambulance Service will be on site during vaccinations. Other emergency groups have also volunteered to help out.

Because each child must wait at least 15 minutes after being vaccinated before going home, Ward said waiting areas are being set up at clinic sites. Entertainment will also be provided before and after the shots are given.

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