The ConVal school board voted Thursday to enter the upcoming school year in the “green phase” of the reopening plan, ensuring the requirement of masks at the beginning of school.
The reopening plan, having previously been adopted by the board, was presented again by Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders on behalf of the district’s COVID-19 Monitoring Team with alterations based changing guidance from various health agencies. The board also voted to accept these changes after amending the revised plan for clarity.
The chief concern amongst board members was the issue of masking, which the members agreed was a necessary mitigation strategy to keep the district’s children safe.
“I think our primary responsibility is to make sure our students can come to school in the most normal circumstances possible, for as long as possible, in the safest environments we can provide for them,” said board member Dick Dunning.
The reopening plan’s revisions included an updated plan to hold classes outside at elementary and middle schools in the district, new guidance about spacing during various phases (three feet in “blue” and “green” and six feet in “yellow”), and information on the data being gathered to help the board decide when to move between the color phases. Additionally, the updated plan said that bussing will be along normal routes, with masks required for all on the busses regardless of phase.
After confusion surrounding initial language for the “green” phase, the board voted to have masks be mandated within this phase, making the only phase where masks would be optional the “blue” phase.
Rizzo Saunders also presented the data from the survey of ConVal families that was completed last week, which showed a high level of vaccination from the district staff and that 70% of high school students are either fully or partially vaccinated. Board member Rich Cahoon requested more clarity on what level of vaccination would be required to eliminate masking at the high school, an issue that the board plans to discuss at their next meeting Tuesday.
The survey also showed that 19.8% of parents intended to keep their children at home if masking was required indoors, and 17.8% would do the same if masking was not required. The prospect of alienating parents and losing students alarmed some board members. Rizzo Saunders told the board of her intention to send the plan to the district after Tuesday’s meeting and follow it with another survey to get final numbers on reactions from district families.
The board also emphasized the flexibility of the plan, and their intention to revisit the data and move between phases as necessary.
“I’m very confident in our ability to layer mitigation strategies and keep children in school,” Rizzo Saunders said. She said that should cases in the region rise, the district’s ability to provide in-person schooling would not be impacted.
The board will meet again Tuesday night to discuss the plan again and revisit issues before the revised plan is sent out to the district.