Thedecision of whether to close a school or keep it open when a community is hit by a health problem such as the recent swine flu is always difficult. Many factors come into play for those making those decisions. They must consider how serious the disease is, how quickly it is spreading, who are most vulnerable and the conditions under which it is likely spread. It is, in the end, a balancing act between acting with too much caution or not enough.

The recent outbreak of the swine flu resulted in a decision by the Deer Park School District to shut its doors for a week. Following that, at least two school Districts, in Suffolk County, Lindenhurst and North Babylon had confirmed cases and determined that they would notify parents of the incidents, monitor them but, for the time being, keep the schools open. We should note here that the cases in Lindenhurst and North Babylon came weeks after the Deer Park incidents and school officials in those districts had a lot more information about the progression of the flu to work with.

Throughout this time other facilities in which people gather and are in close contact, such as day-care and senior citizen centers, also chose to remain open during this outbreak.

In the end, the assistance of the health departments and an ongoing monitoring of the problem helped school officials and others do what they thought best at the time. It's never easy; we recognize that, and believe that even two different decisions addressing the same problem can be accepted.