By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
For two hours this afternoon, Bowling Green City School parents, board members and administrators debated how the district should be educating students during the pandemic.
The meeting was plagued by poor audio at the beginning, making it difficult for the 150 people listening online to understand the discussion. At the meeting, the discussion seemed at times to be more focused on people defending their positions rather than moving any closer to a consensus.
The meeting was arranged after the school board made the decision to continue online classes, rather than moving toward in-person classes. Included in the meeting were some parents on both sides of the issue – some wanting their children to be able to learn in-person, and some wanting the district to continue strictly online.
Moderating the meeting was attorney Jim Sharp, who set the ground rules of no disparaging remarks and a cutoff time of two hours.
“This is not a referendum on the board’s decision,” Sharp said to the participants.
Included in the meeting were parents Ryan Myers, Jessica Swaisgood, Claire Silverman and Tara Loar, board members Ginny Stewart and Tracy Hovest, Superintendent Francis Scruci and school administration members Melanie Garbig, Angie Schaal, Toby Snow and Cathy Schuller.
“This has been very difficult,” Scruci said, noting that the district has received a lot of emails from parents on both sides of the issue.
“We’d like all of our kids to be in school,” he said.
School leaders recognized the amount of responsibility the online schooling has placed on parents.
“I want to thank you parents for doing a hard job right now,” said Garbig, executive director of pupil services.
Garbig talked about the district’s efforts to reach out to at-risk students to offer intervention.
“We have been trying very, very hard to provide assistance with students who are struggling,” Garbig said.
Silverman talked about the difficulties posed by online learning.
“It’s a tough time to work full-time and support our children,” she said. However, it’s necessary during the pandemic, she said, adding that parents should reach out to teachers if their children are struggling.
Garbig spoke of the extra-curricular activities starting up, to give students opportunities to work on social skills.
Myers responded by saying that social skills are an important part of early education.
“I guess I would argue that all students need to be in social groups together,” he said.
Jessica Swaisgood asked about the preschool classes that have been meeting in person, and if other classes couldn’t also meet in such a safe manner.
Garbig said the preschool classes are quite small, only interact within small pods, and are located in the portable modular units at Conneaut, which are air-conditioned.
“It works for that small group,” Garbig said.
Hovest asked the parents who prefer online learning if they would be opposed to the district offering in-person classes to students, but continuing online learning for those who prefer that method.
“I think we would be putting the teachers in a very, very difficult situation,” Loar said. Asking teachers to keep kids safe in classrooms and teach online is unfair, she said. It would be a “great disservice” to students and teachers, she added.
Scruci said staff limitations would not make that possible.
“We don’t have the staff to do that,” he said.
Swaisgood questioned the rationale that Bowling Green City Schools should remain online because of the higher COVID numbers in the district caused by the influx of BGSU students. She pointed out that most other university towns are holding in-person classes for their public schools.
Scruci said that Bowling Green is not like communities with small colleges. Of the 13 Division 1 colleges in Ohio, that aren’t in large cities, only Kent State has continued in-person learning.
“You can’t compare us to Eastwood or Otsego,” he said.
Swaisgood asked if the superintendent had consulted officials at Kent schools to see how they are handling in-person learning. Scruci said he had not, but that he has been in frequent contact with local superintendents and the county health department.
Myers, who is a member of the administration at Penta Career Center, said that COVID cases are inevitable. But by ensuring all the layers of protection are in place, the risks are greatly lowered. He repeated data that was shared by the county health commissioner that the spread of COVID is not occurring in classrooms.
Myers said that some 50 students have had to quarantine at Penta, but that close to 1,500 students have attended classes uninterrupted.
Loar and Silverman asked about the loss of class time for students who are quarantining, and the use of substitutes for missing teachers.
“It’s not just our students, it’s our teachers and our community,” Silverman said.
The group talked about the district’s hybrid plan – which would have half of the students in class two days a week and the other half another two days a week. They would be without teacher instruction three days a week.
“Our elementary students are getting to see their teachers every single day,” with the online classes, Garbig said.
Parents are already asking for more teacher interaction – which the hybrid method would not provide, Stewart said.
“Our administration and our teachers have just been shifting from one thing to another to try to make it better,” she said.
Stewart said safety is a priority.
“Is it the safety? You bet it is,” she said. “I will not sacrifice a teacher.”
Snow, the district’s transportation director, talked about the difficulty busing children to school while meeting social distancing guidelines. Swaisgood asked if it would be possible to transport students safely if the numbers didn’t include those whose parents want them to stay in online classes. Snow said it would be possible.
Swaisgood asked if the buildings are prepared for students to start in-person classes.
Scruci said the buildings are ready with hand sanitizing stations, water bottle stations, masks for staff and students, plexiglas shields, signage, and nurses hired for every building.
“Basically our buildings are ready to go,” he said. “We have not been sitting on our hands.”
But three of the five buildings still don’t have adequate ventilation and no air conditioning, Scruci said.
Swaisgood asked if the district would be able to social distance properly in classrooms, if students who want to remain online do so. She asked if the district had numbers of how many parents want their students back in the classroom. There were no current numbers.
Myers said it may help to know that the board will re-evaluate its decision for online classes every 30 days.
“When people don’t know,” it creates a lot of consternation, he said. Many parents were asking, “if not now, when?”
Two board members, Norm Geer and Hovest are working with school administration to set thresholds for going in-person and for reverting back to online. Scruci said the district does not want to keep flipping between remote, to hybrid, to full-time, then back to remote.
“We can go back to school, face to face, five days a week” if the district doesn’t adhere to public health guidelines, Scruci said.
“If the board tells us to go face-to-face, we’ll make it work,” he said.
The meeting can be viewed at:
