Will revisit idea of full return at December meeting
A meeting Tuesday night delivered good news and bad news for parents in the Marysville School District who hoped for an increase in the number of in-person school days.
The board of education opted Tuesday night not to set in motion a proposal for a tiered return to class, four days per week, in November. The board did, however, do away with a planned move to remote learning from Thanksgiving through Christmas break, deciding instead to stay with the hybrid model currently in place.
“I don’t care, honestly, about the decisions of Dublin, North Union, Fairbanks,” board member Dick Smith said, in reference to other area schools that had returned to a more traditional school week. “The only school district I’m concerned about is this one.”
In considering the increased class days, the board finds itself trying to meet the needs of parents while handling the concerns of its teaching staff.
Parents have said the days out of school have created problems such as increased daycare costs, slowed learning and heightened student frustration. A district survey showed that 70% of parents want children back in school full time.
But teachers have expressed concern that packing buildings with children will increase the chance of spread and could quickly force the district to revert back to a full remote learning plan. The Marysville Education Association polled teachers and found that 70% did not support a full return to class.
The board had been considering a plan that would have seen elementary students return to class four days per week in mid-November, with intermediate returning in December followed by high and middle school students in January. Students are currently operating under a hybrid model that sees roughly half the students attend class on Monday and Tuesday, while the rest attend Thursday and Friday, with Wednesdays being used to deep clean buildings.
The proposed plan included instruction four days per week, rather than five, because of issues with teacher contracts which mandate a certain amount of preparation time during the week. Because of the adjustments to classes, that preparation time has dissolved, which would have forced the administration to leave the fifth day as a remote learning day.
But the board of education felt that any increase in the number of class days was premature, based on trends with coronavirus infections in the state and county. The state is seeing an increase in its numbers and Union County is among 29 counties which are placed in Ohio’s highest category for spread rate.
“We can’t ignore the data that is out there,” board president Sue Devine said.
She noted that a breakdown of the virus infections in the county showed that the problem area is Marysville. North Union and Fairbanks made the decision to return to class five days per week, but their communities are showing very low infection numbers, she said.
Despite the local infection numbers, the board decided to eliminate its plan for full remote learning from Thanksgiving break through mid-January, a move intended to leapfrog the holidays when virus-spread catalysts, like travel and gatherings, are increased.
Board member Brian Luke asked if children might not be safer in schools than outside of them. He reasoned that the local health department has found no cases in which the virus was spread because of contact within a school building.
“It might be better for the kids to be in school, because when they aren’t in school they are hanging out with friends or whatever,” Luke said.
He reasoned that the tiered plan took a cautious approach by adding the youngest students first, an age group believed to spread the virus at a lower rate. He said returning students to class could actually help slow the spread within the community.
“It’s being transmitted outside of school buildings,” Luke said.
“But if it’s outside, it will eventually come in,” board member Amy Power responded.
Powers said that even with the hybrid plan now in place, the community spread continues to be high. She said until the county drops to a lower level, the plan to reopen should not be considered.
“I have no problem with the tiered plan, but I don’t like it right now,” Powers said.
The board eventually voted 4-1 to shelve the tiered return plan and reconsider it at the December meeting, which would possibly allow it to be implemented after the new year. Luke voted no, but said he did so because he did not like the idea of waiting until December should some new information surface that would allow a more immediate return.
While the board did not link the return to the state of Ohio’s color-coded system of tracking spread among counties, many members touched on the idea that the community as a whole will play a role in the return. They said, in essence, residents must help slow the spread so that a safe return is possible.
“We are at the mercy of the community,” Smith said.
Board member Nan Savidge said if parents want children back in school the community must make changes to help slow the spread in the area.
“The parents need to come on board with us,” Powers said. “As a community, we can do this.”