SLO County’s largest school districts have new COVID-19 reopening plans. What changed?
Two of San Luis Obispo County’s largest school districts modified their COVID-19 reopening plans in response to the county slipping back into California’s purple tier of coronavirus restrictions.
Under the purple tier, schools cannot open unless they received a waiver from the local health department allowing them to reopen elementary schools. Secondary schools cannot open even if the school received a waiver.
Boards for Lucia Mar Unified and San Luis Coastal Unified school districts both voted in meetings Tuesday evening to not reopen schools until San Luis Obispo County has been in the red tier for two weeks.
Lucia Mar Unified School District, which which has about 10,300 students in the southern part of the county, previously planned to reopen elementary schools on Nov. 30, and secondary schools on Jan. 11, 2021.
Under the new plan, approved unanimously Tuesday by the Lucia Mar board, the district will reopen elementary and secondary schools when the county is in the red tier for two weeks. Under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, counties in the red tier have coronavirus transmission that is considered substantial, as opposed to widespread.
That return to the red tier could come at any time, but board members expect that schools will likely reopen in January.
San Luis Coastal Unified School District decided a similar fate for its schools Tuesday, which the majority of the board approving a new reopening plan. Trustee Walt Millar voted no.
Rather than reopening all schools Jan. 4, San Luis Coastal schools will remain in distance learning until the county is in the red tier for two weeks, and not until Jan. 21, 2021, the board decided.
That means that even if the county has been in the red tier for two consecutive weeks by Jan. 4, schools would not return to in-person instruction until Jan. 21.
The district, which has about 7,800 students in Los Osos, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, already brought back preschool and transitional kindergarten students on Nov. 2. Those students can remain in their in-person classes despite the county having widespread COVID-19 cases.
Prior to both districts’ meetings, board members said they have received several emails from community members addressing whether they would like to send their kids back to school.
Vicki Meagher, Lucia Mar board president, said during Tuesday’s meeting that she received one email from a community member that suggested sending kids back to in-person school should be done because the coronavirus is “only killing frail, elderly (people) — same as it’s been for hundreds of years.”
“I personally am not willing to sacrifice anybody,” Meagher said in response to that email. “Seven people have died (from COVID-19) who would be in our teacher age range.”
Similarly, members of the San Luis Coastal board said the decision to wait to reopen schools was not an easy one.
“This is not easy stuff,” San Luis Coastal board president Ellen Sheffer said at Tuesday’s meeting. “But now we have a plan, one that fits with science and metrics at this point.”
Board members from each district acknowledged that many students are struggling academically with distance learning and said that in-person learning is the best option for most. The trustees said they chose to err on the side of caution by deciding to delay reopening schools.
According to the boards, delaying schools from reopening will allow them to have plans in place for the next time the county enters the red tier for two consecutive weeks. That way, schools will be able to immediately jump into in-person learning.
When both districts return to in-person learning they will have hybrid schedules in which students will be in classrooms for half the day, and in distance learning the other half
The two school districts’ plans differ greatly from what is happening at school districts in the northern part of San Luis Obispo County.
Paso Robles Joint Unified School District, Atascadero Unified School District and San Miguel Joint Union School District have all brought back some elementary students to campus for in-person learning.
Additionally, 13 private schools in the county opened their campuses to students months ago, with some teaching students in kindergarten through 12th grade in person.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 1:28 PM.
