Students in the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District won’t return to campus until the second semester, board members decided after narrowly rejecting fall return dates during a special meeting Tuesday night.
The board voted 3-2 to target Jan. 4, the start of the second semester for the 2020-21 school year, as the return date, keeping students and teachers in virtual learning mode for now.
Board president Eileen Preston along with members Jan Clevenger and Tory Babcock voted in favor of the motion, while Chris Burtness and John Baeke opposed it. Both dissenters had supported an earlier reopening date.
The boards for both the Santa Ynez Valley High School district and the Lompoc Unified School District held special meetings to tackle the highly divisive issue, which had some Lompoc staff members mentioning the viciousness of social media posts and personal attacks on administrators and other teachers for prompting them to submit comments without their names being used.
Lompoc’s board ultimately decided to postpone a decision and revisit the topic in October.
Both meetings occurred as Santa Barbara County leaders announced a move to the red tier, easing restrictions from the higher purple tier under the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. If the county maintains the red tier status, schools could reopen — with social distancing and other rules — as soon as Oct. 13.
The Santa Ynez high school district’s board tossed around possible dates, including Oct. 13 or Oct. 19, with Superintendent Scott Cory saying it would be problematic to reopen before Nov. 9 because of a number of milestones needed before students return.
“I would not recommend anything less than a month for quality of instructional program,” Cory said.
Teachers need adequate time to prep for a hybrid model, meaning some students will be in class while others remain remote as the two groups alternate days on campus. In addition, teachers also will deal with a third group of students remaining on remote learning.
School officials also need to resolve transportation matters since social distancing rules would severely restrict the number of passengers per bus. Administrators also need to negotiate with the unions to reflect the changed learning model.
Board member Tory Babcock expressed concerns about a resurgence in COVID-19 cases if students return too soon, adding that the start of the second semester would serve as a clear starting point.
“It would give the faculty and staff the time they need to be able to do this amazing balancing act we’re asking them to do with three different cohorts,” Babcock said. “I think we’d be that much closer to a vaccine presumably.”
She said many other local districts have looked to have students return for the second semester.
Board member John Baeke, a surgeon, renewed his push for reopening sooner.
“If we go along with not reopening until the second semester, the community and the students are going to be outraged. We are not doing what is in the students’ best interest here,” Baeke said.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District is hoping for a January reopening but continues to re-evaluate that decision as COVID-19 conditions change, a spokesman said.
During a virtual meeting attracting more than 270 participants, Lompoc Unified School District board members voted 3-2 not to apply for a waiver after deciding they did not need one because of the switch to the red tier. However, any other decisions, including a reopening date, were deferred.
Board members discussed returning to school as soon as safely possible, lacking any definite date.
“The district needs to come out with a plan to the public of what exactly is in place to open the schools safely right now,” board member Nancy Schuler-Jones said.
She added that members of the public have expressed frustration at the apparent lack of a plan for reopening.
“There are so many working parts in this, and we need to get a clear picture,” she added.
District administrators said challenges include a requirement to conduct COVID-19 tests on staff, a step that could cost $500,000.
The board’s next meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 13, and members asked for a reopening plan, including what needs to be in place and what needs to be done for students to safely return.
District protocols can be found by clicking here, while the action plan is available by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.