“Union County Schools are not spreading COVID-19” was the message Dr. Jimmy Carter, Director of Union County Public Schools, stated as he updated the Board of Education at the December 10 board meeting on the status of COVID-19 in the schools.
Carter asked the regional health department if there was any evidence that COVID is spreading inside the school system and the answer was a resounding “No.” The evidence suggests that the cases are coming from home into school.
Because of state quarantine requirements, one student with a positive test can result in the quarantine of 60 students while one teacher with COVID-19 can cause a minimum of six students in quarantine.
As of the meeting date, about 25 percent of the tests in the county were reported as positive with 11 active student cases and three active cases for employees, with 236 school students and staff in quarantine.
Carter continued to explain that everyone was being more conscience of social distancing. He related how a recent situation at HMMS caused all certified central office administrators including Carter to become substitute teachers in the classrooms and the cafeteria.
He noted that “our students are better off in school than another week of Christmas break,” so Union County will continue the normal schedule. He praised the staff for being “absolutely amazing, just wonderful — cool, calm, not a lot of frustration”.
He stated, “I don't want to be a follower,” alluding to some nearby systems who have closed early and added to the time out of school for Christmas break. He reminded the board that UCPS had opened on time with a plan in place that was “not easy, not fun, but we adhered to the plan.”
He further admitted, “Yes, we are struggling in some areas, but I want to look at each school and the system and make decisions on the evidence.”
Carter reported that UCHS had quite a bit of difficulty earlier on the day of the meeting. He commented that schools want and need to be open, but that he may have to make some tough decisions if the number of quarantined individuals continues to increase. (Indeed, UCHS closed earlier than anticipated before Christmas break.)
Another difficult issue was pointed out by UCEA President Carolyn Murr. She noted that new teachers were being unduly penalized by the lengthy mandatory quarantine since they have no sick leave stockpile from which to draw if they have to be in quarantine past the 10-day limit.
Carter responded that the issue was simply an economic one. The CARES Act, a federal law, maximizes the number of COVID quarantine days that can be reimbursed at two weeks or 10 days per employee. The system cannot afford to pay the teacher's salary and the substitute, so new teachers may have their pay docked if they have to quarantine longer or serve multiple quarantines.
Only the regional health department has the power to reduce the length of quarantine to 10 days or less. The health department does the follow-up call regarding a positive test, then school nurses complete the contact tracing including the associated paperwork.
According to Carter, he would welcome a legal plan that would not jeopardize new teacher pay nor adversely affect the system finances. Finally, Carter shared that the system is ready with several contingency plans if the evidence warrants a change.
The system is making a calendar change for the return to school after Christmas break. Every Wednesday will continue to be a distance learning day. This day allows teachers to not only address distance learning but also do the bookkeeping, testing, and training that the program requires. January 4 will remain an administrative day. January 5 and 6 will be distance learning for all.
January 7-15 only half of the students will attend in-school in order to make social distancing more achievable.
January 18 will have no school because of the Martin Luther King holiday.
On January 19, regular classes will resume.
For elementary and middle school, the situation remains fluid with students going back and forth between distance learning and in-school,
For UCHS, the situation is different with the same system as before used after Christmas.
Snow days have caused some confusion. The news media misreported a recent distance learning day as a snow day. The system will still occasionally have a snow day.
But when a board member questioned the need for snow days, Carter responded that there are students who cannot do distance learning because of no access to the internet, but the system can still serve the students.
Perhaps the future will bring no need for snow days and universal distance learning will fill the gap.
The board approved two contracts. In the first, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) had invited the Union County school system to participate in a special grant opportunity only offered to 20 of the Tennesse school systems. Because of this professional development grant, the money originally budgeted for K-2 English Language Arts Professional Development was repurposed to K-8 Math. Therefore, the contract with TNTP could be extended to February 2021 with no additional cost to the school system. The other contract defines when and how often attendance needs to be taken at Tennessee Virtual Academy.
After months of discussion, planning, and engineering estimates, the HVAC system for the hallways of Luttrell Elementary was approved for bidding.
Board member Marty Gibbs from 1st district asked that the rest of the HVAC system be reviewed for any needed upgrades also. Johnson Control has estimated the project to be about $200,000. A budget addition will be considered later under capital projects.
Another capital project that will be partially funded through federal funds is a technology upgrade to purchase interactive panels for Paulette Elementary similar to those used in the other elementary schools. The local amount approved for the project was $30,400 for a total cost of $120,000. Carter also reported that the capital project at UCHS has been completed.
The board approved several Tennessee School Board Association-recommended board policy changes on first reading. Changes include a Title IX Coordinator, deciding Title IX Complaints on the basis of a preponderance of evidence, zero tolerance no longer requiring alternative education, a child abuse coordinator at each school, and the addition of dating violence in the Family Life Education curriculum.
A new state requirement mandates that all teachers must have background checks, even those who were teaching before the law changed. With no local vendor to provide the service, American Business Equipment, a local business also known for its printing services under Thunder Road Printing & Graphics Design, agreed to become a local provider.
The board approved the Local Education Agency School Compliance plan to have all teacher background checks complete by December 31, 2021, and thereby keep the system compliant under the law.
At the director's request, the board approved a custodial position for Paulette and later for the employee to fill in for quarantined or absent custodians at a cost below $30,000, including all benefits and fixed costs.
The board also approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Camelot for mental health services. Camelot will bill the student's insurance, work with children coming from residential into the school setting, provide for psychological services many times due to child abuse, and offer home services for families. All services will be done with parental consent at no cost to the school system.
Dr. Lauren Effler recognized Debbie Churchill and Dolly Sands for their volunteer efforts to provide needed supplies to the schools each month. These ladies, known as the Secret Santas and the Angel Ladies, visit each school monthly, inquire as to what the students or teachers need for learning to be successful, and then fulfill the wishes.
The board held an executive session to discuss litigation after the meeting. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, January 14, at 6:30 p.m.