Oconto Falls School Board reviews issues regarding fall school reopening

OCONTO FALLS — A couple of Oconto Falls parents have expressed concern about the prospect of reopening school with students in masks and required to stay 6 feet apart from each other.

“There is no justification for not opening school in typical fashion come fall,” Carrie Pagel wrote in a letter read at the beginning of Monday’s Oconto Falls School Board meeting, citing statistics that show the COVID-19 virus has not seriously affected children or adults younger than 40. “We should focus our efforts on coming up with common-sense solutions for safe alternative education for the few students that may need it, and the few staff with personal concerns could take personal safety precautions as they see fit or ask for a different job description.”

Parents should be the ones who decide if they need to take extra precautions to guard their children’s health and safety and make decisions accordingly, Pagel said.

“I have talked with many parents in our district and have heard a great number of them say, ‘If masks are required in the fall, I will not be sending my kids back to public school,’” Pagel said. “This worries me, as I believe public education is an important component to a society that gives a fair opportunity to all people, no matter their gender, race or health status.”

The current Centers for Disease Control guidelines for reopening schools in the fall, with masks, distancing, “fear-mongering signage” and many other restrictions, could do lasting damage to children’s mental and emotional well-being, she said.

Another parent, Carol Schultz, said the idea that children will stay 6 feet apart is “ridiculous” and questioned how the school district could manage and enforce the rule.

“I work in the lunchroom; I watch how just getting them through that process is difficult,” Schultz wrote. “Now add in 6 feet. ‘Don’t touch this, don’t stand by your friends,’ kids just getting yelled at all day? The idea is asinine. I want my kids safe, I want the community safe, I also want to hear realistic ideas.”

The meeting was held via Zoom video-conferencing technology because of ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

Superintendent Dean Hess said every school district is going to have to decide its own interpretation of guidance from the CDC and state Department of Public Instruction for protecting the health and safety of students and teachers.

The advice regarding wearing of masks, for example, ranges from wearing them all the time to their not being necessary especially if you maintain distance, Hess said.

“Here’s the other piece: You have to ask the question if you put things in place, how do you police that?” he added. “How realistic is it that you’re going to have students ages 4-17 wearing those masks all the time, and when they don’t wear them, what are you going to do about that?”

With data coming in every day, everything may change in the next 30 days, Hess said.

At this point the district is not requiring staff and visitors to wear masks unless they need to work in close proximity, he said. He said he hopes to get planning help from administrators, staff and parents and come up with guidelines by midsummer.

It’s still possible that reopening school this fall will have some kind of virtual component, Hess said. Although school buildings were closed, teaching and learning continued online through the end of the school year. Technology upgrades authorized and implemented after a 2016 referendum helped that process run smoothly, he said.

In other developments related to coronavirus, Hess announced that the 2020 high school musical has been postponed. A musical is usually staged every other fall, with the planning process underway during the spring and summer, and the state-imposed school building closures have affected that process. Moving the musical to spring 2021 proved unfeasible, so the show was delayed a full year.

After much discussion Monday, the School Board reached a consensus to survey the Class of 2020 to gauge interest in an in-person graduation ceremony on a Sunday afternoon in July or early August.

High school principal Jake Beschta said the options include a limited-invitation (four seats per graduate) ceremony in the fieldhouse or ST Paper Stadium, with social distancing precautions, a drive-by ceremony in the high school parking lot with students emerging from their cars to accept their diplomas, or holding some sort of recognition ceremony during the 2020-21 school year, probably during the winter season between semesters when college freshmen come home.

Hess said a fieldhouse ceremony offers the best options for distancing because the big room has multiple entrances, while the football stadium presents bottleneck issues.

wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com