The State : Absences Go Up Over AIDS

Nearly half of the kindergarten students at a Porterville elementary school failed to show up for class after reports that a 5-year-old girl with AIDS was scheduled to begin kindergarten this week. Officials reported 15 unexcused absences in a class of 31 at Roche Avenue Elementary School, with at least two parents saying they would enroll their children elsewhere because of the AIDS victim’s attendance. Despite a meeting last week in which Tulare County health officials said there is little chance of the child infecting others, some parents said they were not convinced. “They said something about the girl has 18 months to two years to live,” said one mother. “Let her go smell the flowers and look at the butterflies instead of being here.”