With just under a week until classes begin on Friday, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. is not announcing any changes to its reopening plan.
However, BCSC school board members and cabinet administrators did discuss next steps and possible changes as part of a strategic planning session Friday afternoon.
Superintendent Jim Roberts said BCSC continues to have discussions about reopening procedures with community stakeholders. The COVID-19 Community Task Force is “looking to have some conversation,” but he does not believe anything has been scheduled yet.
A meeting could happen possibly sometime in the next week.
Roberts said that such discussion is important because, as he’s seen in past dialogue with the community, there’s more to consider than “just a school approach.” Instead, there needs to be a “community approach,” he said.
“If the delta variant is spreading throughout our community or state, if we start to see numbers go up here locally and feel like something needs to be done, doing something in the schools is not likely going to change the numbers drastically,” he said.
One topic of some discussion among school officials was masking protocol. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance, released Tuesday, recommends masks indoors for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.
BCSC Communications Coordinator Josh Burnett said earlier this week that the school corporation is aware of this recommendation.
“As with each CDC update regarding COVID-19, BCSC leadership will continue to review the information and consult with the Bartholomew County Health Department,” he said.
BCSC’s current reopening plan states that, in most situations, masks are optional for both students and staff, but “recommended” for those at risk or unvaccinated. However, masks are required on buses due to a federal mandate. The reopening plan also states that BCSC will adjust its guidelines “as needed based on the level of community spread.”
Board member Julie Bilz said that she has “mixed feelings” about masks. On the one hand, she feels that they should follow the recommendations from both the CDC and the Indiana State Department of Health. She also could see the need for students who are too young to be eligible for vaccination.
“But I understand, also, the challenges of masks on a 3-year-old,” she said.
The CDC recommendations reference community spread, Roberts said. Last year, BCSC’s decisions to close schools for a period of time was based off local data and spread, not necessarily on what other areas were doing. Local data will continue to factor into decisions, he said.
Some board members suggested that, rather than necessarily tightening protocols on students, it might be possible to ask more of adults.
“I think a lot of the feedback that we’re getting is about students,” said board member Rich Stenner. “And we can make different decisions about staff. If we have a building where it’s a problem and we’re concerned about it, the first obvious step is ‘Let’s get all the adults to wear masks.’”
Board member Nicole Wheeldon also said that they might consider putting more controls on visitors at least. Under the current reopening plan, visitors and parents are allowed to enter school buildings. At the beginning of last year, only essential visitors were allowed in schools.
Roberts said that this could be a possibility, but further conversation would be needed in order to set the parameters.
“If people are coming in from the outside … I think it is a good idea to have them mask to protect our community within our schools,” board member Kathy Dayhoff-Dwyer said. “Especially our little kids that we don’t necessarily want them masked because it’s that whole learning, visual type thing.”
Roberts also noted that they have greater latitude to require proof of vaccination from a visitor than a staff member or student.
Stenner emphasized that BCSC administration should consider different rules for different schools and be flexible.
“If it’s a problem over here, we don’t need to make a rule that everybody lives with,” he said. “We make a rule for where the problem is.”
Roberts agreed that certain COVID-19 parameters might differ by building.
BCSC’s next school board meeting is set for Aug. 9. Roberts said that COVID-19 will be on the agenda as a discussion item at least, as the school corporation continues to provide updates on the subject.
