July 16, 2020 10:05p
(WGTD)---The Kenosha School Board spent over three hours Thursday evening going over preliminary plans to offer both in-person learning this fall along with a virtual option.
Then this from Board President Tom Duncan: "I think there's still an elephant in the room."
Duncan disclosed that at this point he harbors deep reservations over re-starting classroom instruction this fall, despite the numerous precautions that administrators are planning in order to minimize the spread of coronavirus. "We can't afford a mistake," Duncan said. "We've got to be able to pivot to an alternate plan," he said, citing the surging number of cases in Wisconsin and throughout much of the nation. As a hospital administrator, Duncan has seen first-hand just how serious and unpredictable the virus can be. "I've seen what this disease has done and how quickly a person can go downhill."
It turned out that most board members feel the same way.
"I don't think the time is right," said Yolanda Santos-Adams.
Another board member, Todd Battle, President of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance, signaled that he wasn't ready to vote to open up classrooms, either. "I'd love to see kids back in school--I think everybody would," Battle said. "I'm not sure it can be done safely right now. There are a lot of things we're doing in the way of protocols--I think that helps. But there's still a ton of risk out there."
Dan Wade was the only board member who seemed firm in the belief that in-person learning should begin this fall.
The school board needs to make a final decision at the end of the month.
If in-person teaching will be an option, face masks will be mandated for both staff and students. There will be some exceptions, but 'I don't wanna' won't be one of them. "We're thinking if kids won't want to follow the face mask rule and they don't have a medical reason for it we would actually put them in virtual learning," said administrator Sue Valeri.
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