Minatare schools Superintendent Chuck Bunner says the district is monitoring illnesses in both their elementary and senior high schools. Bunner says the number of ill students at the elementary school jumped from 20 Monday to 37 Tuesday, while the high school and junior high had 41 of 122 students missing Tuesday. The high school number is down from the 56 not present Monday. Bunner believes some of the Monday absences at the high school were the result of heavy snow that did not allow students to get to school.

Bunner says students are calling in with respiratory issues, the flu, and in some cases suffering from symptoms associated with the H1N1 virus. Bunner says he was in touch Tuesday with the Scotts Bluff County Health Department but at this point plans to keep school open as long as education can still take place.