IONIA, Mich. — Welch High School in Ionia will be closed for a second day after a staff member at Ionia Public Schools was found dead inside one of the district's buildings on Wednesday.
News about the death was shared publicly Thursday morning by the Ionia Department of Public Safety.
In a letter to parents on Thursday, Superintendent Ben Gurk called the late educator "beloved."
Details of the staff member's death were not made immediately available.
In support of the teacher and the community, Welch High School, Ionia High School, and the Bulldog Beginnings Preschool closed their doors on Thursday, December 4. The district later announced Welch High School would remain closed on Friday.
Douglas R. Welch School is a virtual option for students, according to the district's website.
Grief counselors will be available to support students and staff on Friday, wrote Gurk.
There is no evidence to suggest any ongoing threat to the community, said the public safety department. The teacher who died has not been named, and the investigation into the death is ongoing.
