‘We are taking a pretty huge risk.’ SLO County school district settles on reopening plan
Coast Unified School District just became the final school district in San Luis Obispo County to settle on plans to reopen its classrooms to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a four-hour-long virtual meeting Thursday evening, the Coast Unified board of trustees deliberated on whether to bring students back to classrooms.
After one failed motion that would have brought only elementary students back, the board decided that all grade levels in the small North Coast district — transitional kindergarten through 12th grade — will transition to face-to-face learning, starting around April 12.
The board voted 4-1 in favor of the motion. Trustee Jack Mettier rejected the motion, as did student trustee Jasmine Pena, who has an honorary vote.
“Although I voted in favor, my personal beliefs are that we are taking a pretty huge risk here,” board president Samuel Shalhoub said during Thursday’s meeting. “But as the board president I will stand in support of our board’s decision and I will do everything in my power to protect our community as we move forward with our transition.”
Secondary schools in San Luis Obispo County have been allowed to reopen to in-person instruction as early as March 8, five days after the county moved into the red tier of coronavirus restrictions under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Previously, only elementary schools were allowed to reopen as long as the school district received approval from the San Luis Obispo Public Health Department.
On March 8, Atascadero Unified School District became the first district in the county to bring all of its middle and high school students into classrooms in a hybrid learning model. Paso Robles Joint Unified, Lucia Mar Unified, Templeton Unified and San Luis Coastal Unified school districts will follow suit on Monday and Tuesday.
The wave of school reopenings comes as local educators gain increased access to COVID-19 vaccines. Many districts have been able to offer vaccine appointments to most, if not all, of their staff this week.
Coast Unified staff have all been offered vaccine appointments, district Superintendent Scott Smith said during Thursday’s meeting. Those who chose to accept the offer received their first shots already this week or will do so Friday, he said.
“We’ve had an overwhelming response,” Smith said. “The majority of the teachers are getting vaccinated.”
Coast Unified board meeting draws concerns, support
During Thursday evening’s board meeting, about 120 community members showed up to listen and comment on the district’s reopening plans.
Though the majority of the commenters favored a return to in-person learning, some teachers, students and parents called in to ask for the district to remain in distance-only learning — especially for secondary school students.
“We understand that the idea of going back to in-person school has a lot to do with giving us just a sliver of a normal senior year, but we can assure you that we would much rather continue on the path we are on today,” said Sophia Mackinnon, a senior at Coast Union High School in Cambria.
Mackinnon said that many of her school peers have adjusted comfortably to distance learning and picked up jobs. Should the high school return to in-person learning, Mackinnon said, some students may lose their sources of income.
Another student at Coast Union High, freshman Hatzumy Ramirez, said that returning to in-person learning so late in the school year would not make any difference for the older students. She said she was able to concentrate more during online learning.
Emily Takahashi, a teacher at Santa Lucia Middle School, spoke on behalf of 11 other teachers at the Cambria middle school and Coast Union High who wanted the schools to remain in distance-only learning.
“We are concerned about how easily this horrible virus can spread,” Takahashi said during the meeting. “We are worried about our loved ones at home, our students and their families. Even just one teacher, student or family member getting this virus is one too many.”
Coast Unified School District is one of two districts in San Luis Obispo County — the other being Cayucos Elementary School District — that has reported zero COVID-19 cases among students or staff to The Tribune.
Lucia Mar has reported more than 220 coronavirus cases, while the Paso Robles district has reported nearly 150, according to The Tribune’s database of COVID-19 cases in local public and private schools.
At Thursday’s Coast Unified board meeting, many people spoke up during the public comment period to ask for schools to reopen.
One Coast Union High student, Cyrus Tatham, said he has seen his and his peers’ overall motivation for school decline as distance learning has continued.
“I feel like we should just go back to school,” he said. “Despite what kids say — part of me wants to say, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to go back to school just because I want to be lazy, because this is easier and I get to go skating all the time and it’s fun.’ But also, part of me wants to go back to school because I know it’s actually going to be better for me.”
Alexander Burton-Linn, a junior at Leffingwell High School, said being stuck in distance learning is “frustrating” and has been “completely ineffective.” He also argued that more teachers should be on board with in-person learning as they get vaccinated.
“I honestly feel that that’s a little bit selfish of them and I feel abandoned by them,” Burton-Linn said about teachers expressing their discomfort with returning to in-person learning before being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The last person to speak at the board meeting, a woman who only identified herself as April, said she is a parent of a student at the Cambria Grammar School and a local nurse who has “dealt with COVID” and “bagged a lot of body bags this past year” due to a rise in coronavirus-related deaths in the community.
However, April advocated for the safe return for in-person learning at Coast Unified schools.
“I have personally experienced too many dead bodies, but I still feel like my student and the teachers should be safe ... following safety protocols,” she said. “It’s just science. And I think that, with one year of preparation, the school could open safely.”
What is North Coast district’s plan to reopen schools?
On Thursday, Shalhoub originally made a motion to bring only students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grades back to in-person learning. The motion was seconded by Mettier but failed 4-1 in a vote.
So, Shalhoub made another motion to bring all students, in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade, into classrooms.
That motion later passed.
The students will be brought back to in-person instruction “through a phased opening at the discretion of the administrative staff,” according to Shalhoub’s motion. That means that Smith and the school principals will set the timeline for when students walk onto campuses.
During the board meeting, Smith and other administrators indicated that students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade will return around April 12 — the day the district resumes after its week-long spring break. Secondary school students would then be phased in after that.
That would give Coast Unified elementary school students 38 days in classrooms before the school year ends.
Elementary and secondary schools in the district would reopen on a half-day schedule, with students learning in-person in the morning — 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for elementary school students and about 8 a.m. to noon for secondary school students. The rest of the day would be spent at home or, if needed, on campus in small-group learning pods for extra help.
Parents of students in the district can opt to have their kids remain in distance learning.
While learning in-person, students and teachers must adhere to strict health and safety guidelines. All must wear face masks and practice physical distancing at all times possible. Desks will be spaced apart, and there will be increased ventilation and frequent cleaning to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
“While we aren’t 100% ready, we are well-staged to get ready in rapid fashion,” Smith said about reopening schools.
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 10:34 AM.
