BY SYDNEY HOOVER
The Eudora School District will continue to follow recommendations in addressing COVID-19 from local authorities including the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, Superintendent Steve Splichal said Saturday.
The School Board called a special meeting Saturday morning to address questions board members and families in the district have regarding school closings and other decisions made based on the pandemic.
Splichal said the district has every intent to reopen schools on March 30 when the county’s 14 day closure ends, but due to the fluidity of the situation, that could change.
“We will continue to make every effort to communicate with families and patrons as the situation develops,” Splichal said.
The closure comes as Kansas confirms its seventh presumptive-positive COVID-19 case, the first believed to be community spread.
Splichal said the district will continue looking into how to address missed school days. Districts in Kansas have three options from the Kansas Board of Education, which include making up missed days before June 30, online schooling or petitioning to waive missed days. He said as of now, the district will look at how missed days can be made up.
All sports practices and other activities are canceled through March 30 with the school closure. The Kansas State High School Activities Association has not made a decision regarding the continuation of spring sports.
Should schools reopen, the district will have to continue following bans on gatherings issued by the state, which recommends schools limit gatherings to less than 100 individuals. This would affect daily activities such as indoor recess and lunchtime, but could also affect upcoming events including prom and graduation if the pandemic persists.
Over spring break, administrators will look into how to address issues such as hourly employees out of work, students on free or reduced meals, state assessment schedules and more.
“The issue for us really is that this is a fluid and quickly evolving thing, so we’re going to try to balance the communication and the day to day communication the right way with the best information we have available,” Splichal said.
Board member Mike Kelso asked the district to provide daily updates to families through social media with any new information gathered throughout the day. Splichal said families could anticipate regular updates Monday through Friday and further updates as needed on weekends.
“The concept of social distancing is really important. Contact is where that virus is spread. If you’re at home, practice your handwashing with your kids, make sure you’re practicing that on a regular basis,” Splichal said. “When classes return, we have got to have the assistance of our families to not, despite their excitement of being able to return, we simply cannot have students coming to school if you are running a fever.”
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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