BY SYDNEY HOOVER
Eudora Schools will move to a hybrid learning model beginning Monday, the Eudora School Board decided in a 5-2 vote Thursday.
This comes as Douglas County saw a spike in coronavirus cases over the last week. The county reached a positivity rate as high as 9.6%, while Eudora as a town has a rate of around 5%, putting it in the “yellow” phase.
“Obviously, [this was] extremely challenging and nothing any of us signed up for,” said board President Eric Votaw. “It’s a struggle for me because I feel like I need to help lead this board and I don’t want to lead a board that is divided. But I don’t know how to get away from that in this issue.”
Votaw, like multiple board members, said he went back and forth on how he would vote several times even within hours of the meeting. He ultimately voted to approve the motion to move to hybrid.
The board had previously voted to remain in full time in-person learning for at least the first week of school despite the county moving into the yellow phase. At the time, cases were notably lower than they are now.
Around 79% of Eudora students are attending classes in-person, while 21% chose for Eudora's virtual learning option for the semester.
Moving into a hybrid learning model now could allow the school to maximize the time spent in-person, board member Joe Hurla said, rather than staying fully in-person until the county potentially moves into red, should cases spike enough.
“My priority is that we preserve the opportunity to have at least some in-person education with our kids,” Hurla said. “So I guess I would look at this as, if we do decide to move to hybrid, it’s really with a long-term view that that maybe gives us the best chance to get kids in the classroom for as long as possible.”
Board member Lynn Reazin said she was conflicted on how to vote, but wanted to keep in mind the impacts the decision could have on other aspects, such as a student’s mental health.
Furthermore, she said while the district’s plan says the schools should be hybrid at the moment, she felt the full-time model schools were in over the past week was running smoothly and keeping kids safe after hearing updates from each building principal.
“I truly walked in today wide open-minded as far as there was not a preconceived decision,” Reazin said. “I’m also conscientious of how well we’ve been doing with the in-school, and what will the hybrid get us?”
Reazin and board member Mark Chrislip both voted no on the motion.
The decision will not impact sports and activities. The board determined at a previous meeting if schools moved into a hybrid learning model, sports and activities could continue as planned. With the county being in yellow, though, gatherings will be limited, and crowds will be expected to space out 10-feet apart at events such as Friday’s football game.
Board members will reconvene to reevaluate the situation in two weeks to determine how to move forward. Some members expressed interest in hearing from Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health Director Dan Partridge again at the next meeting. Superintendent Steve Splichal said the district is anticipating feedback on its back-to-school plan from the health department in the coming days, and adjustments could be made based on that feedback at the next meeting as well.
The board will also hear from different staff members in each building, such as principals and counselors, for updates at the next meeting.
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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