By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City Schools has put Chromebooks in the hands of every student, and is providing hotspots for students in internet deserts.
“We’d love to be back at school – but we’re not at this point,” Superintendent Francis Scruci said at Tuesday evening’s school board meeting.
While other districts in the area are holding at least some of their classes in person, Bowling Green started the year all online. Scruci explained that different districts face different situations.
“You can’t compare our district to another,” he said, noting the impact of BGSU which reported 62 new cases last week.
With BG schools in their second week of classes, Scruci reported the start of the year is going as well as possible.
“Each day we’re learning something new and discovering things,” he said. “We truly appreciate the support” of families and the community.
“We know there’s frustration” on the part of parents, Scruci said. “We are frustrated as well.”
The district has made strides in providing Chromebooks to all students – purchasing 3,000 of them plus personal protective equipment with the help of $366,774 in CARES funding. And hotspots are being provided in rural areas and at some daycares with the help of a $130,000 broadband grant.
“For the most part, we had a pretty good start,” Scruci said. Some glitches are being smoothed out. “Technology is only as good as when it works,” he said.
Scruci updated the board on orders from the Ohio Department of Health on reporting COVID-19 cases. Parents report positive COVID cases to the school, and the school then provides notice to other families and to the Wood County Health Department. The health department then does contact tracing and reports the numbers to the state.
The school district will make student and staff COVID case numbers public on its website every Monday at 4 p.m.
Since Bowling Green’s classes are all online, the only time parents will be notified is when students have been in contact with someone testing positive during extracurricular activities.
Scruci reported that the Ohio High School Athletic Association conducts inspections at sporting events of safety measures put in place for COVID. An inspection at last Friday’s football game hosted by Bowling Green resulted in a 100% score for the district, he said.
In other business, Scruci refreshed the board on the rules covering masks. Face coverings are not required for preschool students or athletes, including cheerleaders, during competition.
When Bowling Green returns to in-person learning, masks will be required for all teachers and students in K-12 classes and for preschool teachers.
