By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Any hopes about Bowling Green City School returning to in-person classes were dashed by unclear directives from Gov. Mike DeWine.
During a special school board meeting Tuesday evening, Scruci broke the news.
“We were hoping to get guidance. There is no guidance yet,” he said.
So Bowling Green City Schools will remain the only district in Wood County to not hold any K-12 in-person classes so far this school year. The board is sticking with its matrix adopted in November, which uses facts to determine when it will be safe to return to in-person classes.
“Until we get some guidance on how the study will be implemented, nothing has changed,” Scruci said.
In a press conference last week, DeWine shared new information from two studies about the spread of the virus in schools. Students and teachers exposed to a COVID-positive person in school are no longer required to quarantine as long as the exposure occurred in a classroom setting and all students/teachers were wearing masks and following other protocols.
But when local school superintendents met with Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison on Monday morning, they were left with more questions than answers. While DeWine mentioned the results of the studies, he has not backed them up with written directives.
Scruci sent out a letter to parents on Friday letting them know that classes would remain remote when students returned from the holiday break on Tuesday.
However, Scruci added that the Monday meeting may bring about changes. “I am hopeful that based on the information shared at this meeting we may be able to consider returning our students to school in the near future,” Scruci said.
But Robison said Monday he was unable to give local school superintendents any clear guidance from the governor.
Board member Ginny Stewart questioned the small sample numbers used in the school survey, and the lack of definitive results.
“I know that everybody’s in a hurry to get their kids in the classroom,” Stewart said. But she suggested that in-person learning be considered in earnest once vaccines are available for school personnel.
“We have worked so hard up to this point,” Stewart said. “Vaccines are on the horizon.”
Board President Norm Geer shared that caution.
“We’ve kept the community and kids safe,” Geer said. “We’re going to get the kids in the classroom soon, someday – probably sooner than we thought. I think we need to be very careful about making changes.”
Two board members – Tracy Hovest and Ryan Myers – asked what it will take to get Bowling Green students back in the schools.
“I feel like there’s always going to be a ‘what-if,’” that keeps the school in remote learning, Hovest said.
She suggested re-examining the matrix, based on the new information available now about COVID.
“I think we need to discuss the matrix,” Hovest said. “We know more now than when we finalized the matrix.”
Myers agreed.
“I think it’s worth a discussion,” he said.
And Myers suggested that the district be open to new loosened quarantine guidance if it is issued by DeWine.
Though board members have differing opinions, the discourse among them remained cordial.
Stewart said she has heard from many parents who appreciate the fact that Bowling Green City Schools’ program has remained consistent during the pandemic.
Board member Ryan Myers said he has heard from different parents from other districts who are thankful their children have been able to attend in-person classes.
Board members agreed they share the same goals – but different perspectives of how to get there.
“I too want to move our community forward, move our kids forward,” Stewart said. “But in a way that is safe.”
“We just have to keep talking and bring new information to the table,” board member Jill Carr said.
“We all want to get the kids back in school as quickly as we can – safely,” Geer said.
Stewart also stressed that help is available from the district for kids who are really struggling with online learning. “They need to reach out,” she said of parents who are concerned.
Scruci said the district has an estimated two-week transition time for in-school hybrid classes from when it is determined those are safe.
However, Scruci added that many teachers can only handle eight students at a time in their classrooms while maintaining six feet distance from each other.
Also last week, DeWine announced that school personnel would be included in the second group (1B) eligible for vaccinations in an attempt to get students back to in-school. The governor set March 1 as his target to have school staffs vaccinated throughout the state.
Despite DeWine’s optimistic prediction, the vaccines just aren’t coming in at a pace to make that happen.
“I don’t find that realistic if we don’t get that vaccine in,” Scruci said. “The doses aren’t coming as rapidly as they had hoped.”
It now appears the earliest that school personnel will get vaccines is Feb. 1, he said. A second dose is required no sooner than 28 days after the first.
The district is preparing by getting a count of employees who want the vaccine.
“We don’t know when those doses will be available,” but the district will be ready when it gets here, Scruci said.
All school personnel will be offered the vaccine – teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers – everyone, Scruci said. But school districts cannot mandate that employees be vaccinated.
“If you don’t, you live with the consequences of your decision,” Scruci said.
