LCSD Board Minutes 08/06/2020 – Special Board Meeting

SPECIAL BOARD MEETING

MINUTES

DATE: August 6, 2020

TIME: 5:00 PM                                                    

LOCATION: Online meeting

PRESENT: Barry DePaoli, Jeff Fehr, Lynda Foster, Ken Brunner, Agustin Benegas-Garcia, Kim Thorpe, Brad Wilson, Todd Hausman, Rosey Burkhard, Jeff Barker, Tammy Williams, Amber Corrigan, Jennifer Polley, Stefani Morgan, Jamie Mack, K.C. Knudson, Katherine D’Orazio, Stephanie Rogers, Richard Uhlhorn, Dennis Rahm, Krissy Newkirk, Jody Petersen, Wil Johnson, Lisa Gresham, Linday Wood, Skylar, Cailey Couch, Kristi Collins, Michelle Fanton, and Georgia Mashayekh

AGENDA ITEMS / PUBLIC REQUESTS – COMMENTS

• Call to Order

Jeff Fehr called the meeting to order at 5:00pm.

• Approval of Agenda

There are no changes to the agenda.

• Public Comments or Request on Non-agenda Items

There were no public comments.

RESTARTING SCHOOLS 2020

• Superintendent recommendation

After much work with the Chelan Douglas Health District, the State Department of Health and collaboration with regional superintendents, Barry’s recommendation is to start the 2020-2021 school year fully online.

• Discussion

The board and Barry discussed reasons for the recommendation.

In Chelan County, according to regional health experts, there are 20 times the number of positive COVID19 cases over the State Department of Health (DOH) guidelines for the last seven days. The direction from the Chelan Douglas County Health Department is that schools start school 100% remotely.  There is a possibility of having up to 5 students per classroom attend for in-person instruction based on OSPI Guidelines. Priority would be given to Special Education, Lifeskills, Homeless and students who do not have internet access.

If the district chose to go against DOH guidelines and lose a staff member or a student, the district would not be able to get insurance coverage. The insurance will not cover a potential risk of bringing in more than 5 students per classroom.

In order to  bring students (groups of 5 per classroom)  into the buildings a plan must be submitted and approved by the Chelan Douglas County Health District. The hybrid model of bringing students into school on a part time basis is not an option at this time with the health district.

Concerns were expressed regarding starting remotely for young children when parents are unable to support them at home.  Some parents feel that online learning is not conducive to working parents even if they are able to work from home.

The district will do what they can to support families with curriculum and technology.

When the county can hold an acceptable transmission rate for at least 14 days there is a possibility that school buildings can reopen.  In order for students to be able to attend school in person the transmission rates must be at 25/100,000 based on CDCH guidelines.

Childcare is a challenging dilemma for many parents.  The district needs the help of the community to get numbers down before classes can resume in the buildings. There is a need to address the health risks as a community first to get schools back in person and keep local businesses open.

Barry spoke to the fact of how difficult it was for both students and staff this past spring when classes went remote.  The administrators are currently developing plans for attendance, grading, communication, instruction, independent activities, equity, and extra support.  Schedules will be finalized in the near future.

Questions were taken from the online chat that were answered by Barry and the School Board.

There was a question if any school districts have challenged their local health district recommendations to open schools to students.  All of the State health districts are recommending distance learning.

The district can change this option during the school year according to community numbers and health care needs.  The school district will be denied insurance should they choose to disregard  the advice of  their local health district guidelines during the COVID19 Pandemic.

CSI is working on similar plans as Chelan High School.  There are plans to provide families with curriculum that fits their needs.

The Standard Operating Procedures for each department continued to be developed and will be shared with the board as part of the reopening plan.

There will be an in-person orientation for students and parents during the first week of school if approved by the CDHD.  The district is looking into possible options for families that choose to continue with distance learning for the full year.

ACTION ITEMS

• Decision on model to start 2020-21 school year

Ken moved and Agustin seconded a motion to approve the distance learning model recommended by Barry DePaoli with the additional request to the local health department to allow 5 students per classroom according to the model presented in the OSPI guidelines; motion was approved by Ken, Agustin, Lynda, Jeff, and voted against by Kim.

ADJOURNMENT

Jeff Fehr adjourned the meeting at 5:47pm.

___________________________________          ______________________________________

Jeff Fehr, Superintendent                                                            Barry DePaoli, Superintendent