The Great Bend school district was notified last Friday that a student at Great Bend High School tested positive for COVID-19, and 21 additional students were determined to be close contacts with the student. Another GBHS student also tested positive Friday, and eight additional students were determined to be close contacts with that one.
At Monday’s school board meeting, board member Jacquie Disque asked Superintendent Khris Thexton to clarify, “What makes the call?”
The Barton County Health Department provides the guidelines, but USD 428 school nurses determine who counts as a close contact, Thexton said. That is done, in part, by looking at classroom seating charts.
A close contact is someone who has been within 6 feet of a person who tested positive, for 10 minutes or longer, Assistant Superintendent John Popp added. Often this happens during lunch periods when students socialize and aren’t wearing masks.
“What about mask wearing?” Disque asked.
“Mask or no mask, being inside 6 feet for more than 10 minutes is close contact,” Thexton said, citing guidelines adopted by the Barton County Board of Health. “We follow the health department’s recommendations.” If a seating chart has been updated or there is some error in determining close contact, families can always contact the district office. “We can make an adjustment if we made a mistake.”
Masks can help prevent the spread of the virus, Popp said. However, “the mask is NOT a preventer for quarantine.”
“I think the mask message is not clear to the public,” Disque said.
Board members Deanna Essmiller and Susan Young both voiced agreement that clear information from the district to parents is vital.
“This is an absolute must — that we are building trust,” Young said.
Essmiller said the letter to parents explaining the latest changes in who can attend sporting events was good.
“Restricted attendance rules have been amended by the Kansas State High School Activities Association and beginning Thursday, December 10, KSHSAA will allow attendance of up to two parents/guardians per participant(s) family at athletic events,” the letter begins. “Live-stream will be available for students, siblings, grandparents, or other family members who are not permitted to attend, (using the) GBHS Athletics YouTube Channel.” The current definition of “participants” includes players, coaches, student managers, cheer squads, dance teams, pep bands and student journalists.”
Additional safety guidelines for spectators:
• Mask facial covering must be properly worn at all times
• Temperatures of all individuals will be screened at the pass gate
• Family units will observe social distance from other family units
In answer to another question, Thexton said the number of students who are quarantined for close contact with someone to tests positive and who then test positive themselves during the quarantine period has been “extremely low ... I’d say it’s almost zero.”
Planning time
Federal CARES money will be used to cover the cost of increasing the amount that teachers receive if they give up their planning time to cover for other teachers’ classrooms due to a shortage of substitute teachers this school year. The rate increased from $20 to $30 for the loss of the planning time, for the 2020-2021 school year only. The rate is retroactive to November 1, 2020.
Thexton said no board action was needed for the administration to implement the change, which is considered an expense directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assistant Superintendent Popp said the district doesn’t always have enough substitute teachers available to cover for a teacher who goes into quarantine. And if a substitute covers the same classroom for more than 10 days, the sub’s normal daily rate of $100 per day more than doubles, including the pay for the first 10 days. Until Dec. 7, quarantines in Barton County were typically for 14 days. Quarantines imposed after Dec. 7 are for 10 days, with additional wellness checks of students returning to school on days 11-14 after quarantine. These are done by school nurses, who are doing an outstanding job, Thexton said.
“This (pay increase) would directly impact teachers who are going above and beyond,” Popp said.
Essmiller thanked the district for looking out for its teachers. She specifically mentioned the Thanksgiving break, which started two days early this year.
Teachers were at a breaking point,” Essmiller said.
“Our staff needed a break,” Thexton agreed. If the district hadn’t started its break two days early, Great Bend High School would probably have had to close and only offer remote classes because of a shortage of teachers or substitutes.
Staffing continues to be the biggest challenge in keeping all schools open for in-personal learning, administrators said.
More COVID news
Thexton said other news related to the pandemic includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture extending the period where it will offer free meals to students. The program was originally set to end on Dec. 31 but will run through June 30, 2021. “That’s a great thing for our families,” Thexton said. “That’s one less thing they need to worry about.”
