USD 333 board discusses plans for reopening schools

The plan, at this time, is to have students in Unified School District 333 in the classrooms this fall as scheduled.
That was the message delivered by USD 333 superintendent of schools Quentin Breese to the members of the school board during its regular meeting on Monday night.
The first day of school is scheduled for August 11.
Guidelines for the reopening of schools during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were presented to the superintendents across the state by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) last Thursday.
The guidelines, all 1,160 pages of them, were to be presented to the State Board of Education for consideration on Tuesday and then announced by Governor Laura Kelly on Wednesday.
“At this time we are planning on starting school as scheduled,” Breese said to the board, “With some social distancing measures put in place and obviously the possibility of masks.”
There were nearly 1,000 education professionals from across the state that collaborated on putting together the guidelines on how to reopen schools safely.
“We feel like we have a pretty good plan in place to mitigate the risk,” Breese said.
Breese said the continuous learning platform that was put in place when schools were shut down last spring because of the pandemic was very effective for the time frame during which it took place, but it is not good enough to plan on that forever.
“What we do know is that children with a teacher is more effective, especially at the elementary level, than an online platform,” Breese said, “While online will be an option, and online will be a piece we use in a pinch, it is not going to be our focal point. So the goal is to try to get kids into schools.”
Breese said that the district leadership team should have a plan in place for the school board to consider in early August.
A survey conducted by the district showed overwhelming support from district staff and families in the district for students to be in school with social distancing practices in place.
Along with KSDE guidelines for reopening schools, the board also discussed the district’s proposed COVID-19 exposure, prevention, preparedness and response plan.
It is stated that the plan is to outline the steps that every staff member and student should take to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19. The plan describes how to prevent student and staff exposure to coronavirus, protective measures to be taken in the classroom, personal protective equipment and work practice controls to be used, cleaning, disinfecting procedures and what to do if a staff member or student becomes sick.
In order to be safe and maintain operations, the district has developed the plan to be implemented throughout the district and in all classrooms.
The plan is based on currently available information from the Centers for Disease Control, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, KSDE and other public officials. The district may also amend the plan based on operational needs.
Responsibilities of principals and directors, responsibilities of staff and students, attendance center protection measures, school cleaning and disinfecting protocols and procedures for attendance center exposure situations are among the situations outlined in the plan.
Included in the preventative guidance provided to district staff by KSDE, KDHE and the CDC is that all teachers and staff in classroom settings are required to wear appropriate PPE (masks). Students are encouraged to also wear masks. PPE reusable masks will be provided to staff members by the district for this purpose.
It is stated in the plan that an employee or student that exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 must remain at home until he or she is symptom free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medications. The district will similarly require an employee that reports to work with symptoms to return home until they are symptom free for 24 hours.
An employee or student that tests positive for COVID-19 will be directed to self-quarantine away from schools. Employees or students that test positive and are symptom free may return to school when at least 10 days have passed since the date of his or her first positive test and have not had a subsequent illness.
Employees or students exhibiting symptoms that test positive are directed to care for themselves at home and may return to school when: At least 72 hours have passed since recovery; and (2) to (10) days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
Employees and students that test positive and have been hospitalized may return to school when directed to do so by their medical care provider. The district will require an employee to provide documentation clearing their return to work.
Employees or students that have come into close contact with a confirmed positive COVID-19 individual will be directed to self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of close contact with the carrier. Close contact is defined by six feet for a prolonged period of time.
If the district learns that an employee or student has tested positive, it will investigate co-workers or students that may have been in close contact with that person in the prior 14 days and direct those individuals to self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of close contact with the carrier. If an employee or student learns that he or she has come into close contact with a confirmed positive individual outside of school, they must alert a principal or supervisor of the close contact and self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of close contact.
In action taken during the meeting, the board approved the adoption of the Eureka Math curriculum for grades K-8, both print and online, and the adoption of the online components for grades 9-12.
The district will purchase the Eureka Math curriculum materials from Great Minds PBC at a cost of $48,397.14.
The board approved a resolution authorizing entering into an interlocal agreement for the administration of the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for Cloud County, Kansas 2021. It also approved authorizing board chairman Mark Nordell to sign the interlocal agreement.
CloudCorp executive director Kim Reynolds presented the interlocal agreement and resolution to the board during the meeting.
The Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, which is set to expire in December of this year, is designed to increase the property tax base in the county in order to support the local economic health and quality of life. By encouraging and supporting investments in business property and housing, the plan strengthens the local economy and tax base.
Approval of the resolution and interlocal agreement extends the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for five years to December 31, 2025.
A resolution adopting the Kansas Homeland Security Region (F) mitigation plan was approved by the board during the meeting.
The board also approved an occupational therapy agreement between the Learning Cooperative of North Central Kansas and Rachel Kueker, the classified staff handbook and the adoption agreement and legal assistance fund contract with the Kansas Association of School Boards at cost of $12,484.41.
The board met in two separate executive sessions totaling 45 minutes for the purpose of discussing non-elected personnel.