Testing is about to begin for thousands of students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District, but none of the questions has anything to do with calculating the area of an ellipse.
Instead, the district plans to test students for COVID-19, beginning Sept. 13.
Testing was supposed to begin Tuesday, but the delivery of 17,000 antigen tests was delayed because of supply shortages throughout the nation.
Now, the plan is to start testing about 5,800 students, in stages, beginning next week. The first to get tested will be elementary school students and unvaccinated staff.
The district is still working on the details of how — and how frequently — it will test the students. Eventually, the district wants to test all 12,500 of its students to get a baseline for positive COVID-19 cases in the district.
The decision to test all students in the district has been met with opposition since the district made the announcement in mid-August. Parents during school board meetings have expressed concerns about the taking of their children’s civil liberties. They also have questioned the board’s sensitivity toward children by asking them to stick a nasal swab in their nose to take the test.
Still, district leaders and Superintendent Hilda Maldonado have pushed for testing as a way to manage COVID-19 in schools, at a time when Gov. Gavin Newsom has cut funding for remote-learning programs. District schools instead are offering only in-person classes or an independent study program.
“The health and safety of our students, staff and families is of utmost importance, and as part of keeping our kids in school, one of the mitigation strategies we will be using is COVID-19 testing beginning with our elementary students who aren’t currently able to get vaccinated,” Maldonado said. “Early detection of positive cases will help us ensure safety for all.”
Since the school year began, 25 students and 11 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the district. Of that total, seven student cases and four staff cases appeared last week.
According to the district, about 85% of staff members are fully vaccinated.
In its effort to fight the pandemic, the district also has ordered 1,200 air purifiers for classrooms and offices.
In addition, the district and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will be hosting a free vaccination clinic at Franklin Elementary School from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Walk-ins are welcome. Currently, only people age 12 or older can be vaccinated.
Maldonado said in a statement that the district may restrict overnight travel to “essential overnight travel only.”
“We realize this may bring disappointment for students and families who were looking forward to field trips or other extracurricular events,” Maldonado said. “Administrators will review and approve essential travel and put mitigation strategies in place, like requiring a negative COVID test before and after travel.”
She also noted that there’s currently a bus driver shortage.
“A bus driver shortage that has become an issue nationwide has been seriously impacting our district, and I want to thank the staff and families who continue to drive their students to school,” Maldonado said. “We ask for your continued support as we must continue to put health and safety above all.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
