CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of the West Virginia School Board Association says he wonders if the state is playing ‘Russian Roulette” with school children, school staffs and communities by planning to go back to school in the midst of a pandemic.
“This virus doesn’t have a timeout and you’re worried,” Pat Murphy, association president and 13-year member of the Berkeley County Board of Education told MetroNews Tuesday. “Will we gain as much as we’re risking? That’s a scary, scary question to try and answer.”
Boards of education across West Virginia are approving school reentry plans in preparation for the current statewide start of school set for Sept. 8. They have until Aug. 14 to submit their plans to the state. As of Tuesday evening, four counties had officially turned in their plans and several others were in the process of doing so.
Plans have various options including five-day in-person classes, blended schedules and online instruction. Murphy said the boards and central office staff are trying to cover all scenarios.
“We’re all facing problems. One shoe is not going to fit everyone. We have to look at it and determine what the risks will be and what the gains will be,” he said.
Gov. Jim Justice promised during his coronavirus media briefing Monday a big announcement concerning school reentry at Wednesday’s briefing. There was no hint from the governor’s office or the state Department of Education Tuesday on what the announcement may include.
Murphy said county boards are under a lot of pressure to make decisions that will keep everyone safe and take into consideration the difficulties some families will face if kids don’t go to school.
“There is a lot of anxiety in the air right now,” Murphy said.
In Kanawha County, the state’s largest school system, Superintendent Tom Williams said they’ve going with a staggered start the first four days of school to reduce density and allow for teachers and students in the lower grades to end the previous school year which ended abruptly in March.
“For example, the day the first graders go in their kindergarten teacher will be available to go in the first grade classroom and say goodbye to their students that they had the year before an also be a familiar face that will be a little comforting to students since it’s been a while since they’ve been in school,” Williams explained during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Kanawha county schools Superintendent Tom Williams joins @HoppyKercheval to talk about how Kanawha county plans to open schools. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/5PoEbLmEVO
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) August 4, 2020
Williams said the staggered start the first week followed by two weeks of a blended in-person, online schedule is aimed at preventing a spread of COVID-19 following Labor Day.
“People travel on Labor Day. Families travel and they may go to hotspots and they may come back and be infected and at the end of those three weeks we hope that if there is a spike it’s over with and most of the people are healthy,” Williams said.
Sept. 28 will be the beginning of either 5-day in-person instruction for students or online/virtual instruction. Kanawha County parents/guardians have until Aug. 11 to choose.
A Kanawha County grandmother who called 580 WCHS Radio’s 580 Live show Tuesday said she liked the staggered start.
“It makes sense. It’s baby steps and keeps us all safe and doesn’t cause panic,” she said.
She’ll said she’ll be sending her 5-year-old granddaughter to school for instruction.
“She’s going to start kindergarten and if she didn’t’ go to school she’d be by herself and that’s not good,” the woman said.
Another caller, who described himself as a school personnel worker in Kanawha County, said the plan creates too much of a risk.
“if one child gets the COVID because of sending these kids to school it’s not worth it,” he said.
He said he won’t feel safe when school begins but he still plans to work.
“I will be there. I’ll be definitely washing my hands and I’ll my mask on all day but will I feel safe? No I will not feel safe,” the caller said.
Murphy said he’s concerned about exposing his community to a large surge in cases.
“School boards are under a lot of pressure to reopen,” Murphy said.