County schools to jointly decide fall plans
Hillsboro unveils its likely plan
Staff writer
Marion County school districts will meet Monday about using similar strategies for fall classes, but Hillsboro already has for getting back to in-person classes.
The district’s plan is tentative, but superintendent Max Heinrichs believes it’s a way to get everyone back in classes instead of limited to interacting on computers.
“Our goal is to be in the classrooms, with our teachers,” he said. “We believe that’s the best place for learning to happen.”
The district plans to change all drinking fountains to stations for filling water bottles, and each student, employee or faculty within Hillsboro school district will receive a water bottle, Heinrichs said.
Each person also will receive a neck gator and reusable face mask to decrease likelihood of transmitting COVID-19.
“Our goal will be to bring everybody back into our buildings,” Heinrichs said. “It’s not to do half two days a week and the other half two days a week. At this point we’d like to bring them all back in, and we’d like to do it safely and effectively. If that takes us wearing some mouth and nose covers, then we’re going to do that.”
The district also plans to send surveys to parents and staff members for feedback.
Peabody-Burns is working to get social-distancing resources in classrooms so school can start by Aug. 18, superintendent Ron Traxson said.
“If we’re going to wear masks then we need to provide things for our teachers so they can be heard effectively,” he said.
Being able to properly social distance is not a major concern for Traxson.
“That’s one of the benefits with being a smaller district,” he said. “We thought about it briefly, but for a school our size there’s no need.”
Kansas Department of Education released recommendations for districts this week but the packet consists of 1,088 pages.
What districts do could change if Governor Laura Kelly makes any changes at the state level, such as saying schools can’t start until after Labor Day, Heinrichs said.
“If that would happen, do we just move our year back, bring our kids in after Labor Day and go?” he said. “Those are some of the conversations we’re going to have with the committee.”
Marion and Goessel administrations confirmed they have no plans ready. Centre could not be reached for comment.