Kings County Office of Education acts quickly to deliver late rapid antigen tests to local districts

"We were in contact with the California Department of Education (CDE), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and legislative advocates the whole time," said Lisa Horne, assistant superintendent for the Kings County Office of Education. "The shipments didn't arrive on time," she said.

The shipments finally arrived Tuesday morning (Jan. 11), and Kings County Office of Education staff moved fast to distribute the tests, including to Lemoore's schools.

Since the shipments didn't arrive on time for their stated purpose, Kings County Superintendent Todd Barlow advised district leaders to use the tests in whatever manner they could to keep students in school. That could include testing staff or students (with permission from the parents) to keep them in school if there is a suspected exposure incident.

"We have thirteen independent districts in Kings County, but we've all operated with one foundational truth since this all began: the best place for students is in school," said Barlow.

The role of the Kings County Office of Education is to support local districts in the work they do. To that end, Barlow himself delivered tests to some smaller school districts while Horne organized district pickup for the larger ones.

"The staff at our local schools are working hard. We're happy to do whatever it takes to support all students," Barlow said.