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South Jersey school district cancels classes Friday after too many staff members called out

Where's the best place to watch the Super Bowl parade, according to Eagles fans
Where's the best place to watch the Super Bowl parade, according to Eagles fans 04:09

Deptford Township School District has canceled classes Friday because of an unmanageable number of staff absences, the superintendent announced Thursday night. 

The closure in the district in Sewell, New Jersey, is "due to a greater number of staff callouts than expected," making it difficult to operate on Friday, a letter from Superintendent Kevin Kanauss said

District leaders intended to keep schools open even with many opting to attend the Eagles' Super Bowl celebration parade in Philadelphia but made a last-minute decision to close, the letter says:

"We know that many students and staff have been planning to attend the parade in Philadelphia tomorrow, but we also realize that many in our community rely on our schools being open. We absolutely had every intention of holding school tomorrow, however with the number of callouts still increasing as of 7pm tonight, we are simply at the point where [we] will be unable to safely transport and supervise our students tomorrow." 

The superintendent also apologizes for the late notice in the message to the school community. 

The School District of Philadelphia and several universities in the area are also closed Friday, as well as some other South Jersey districts including Gloucester City. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says suburban high schools will be closed while suburban parish and regional Catholic elementary schools will be open as determined by their local administrations.

Read more about Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl parade preparations:

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