Tapping his foot once, twice, and third time against the rough grey carpet in the School Board chambers, Stafford County Schools superintendent Scott Kizner looked back at the small crowd that faced the School Board meeting Tuesday night.
Immediately after his glance back, Kizner calmly addressed the School Board on his staff’s response to the ongoing fears of the spread of the Coronavirus.
Recently declared a ‘global pandemic’ by the W.H.O., the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, made its way to Virginia last week. The number of positive cases sits at nine, including one in Spotsylvania County, Stafford’s neighbor to the south.
Risks to the general public remain ‘low,’ according to a press release.
Kizner and his staff chose not to wait for the virus to spread to Stafford before coming up with a plan. Instead, Kizner and his staff took a proactive approach by canceling school field trips, large events, and evening programs. Outdoor spring sports will be able to continue as planned, but that could change at any time.
“We’re trying to anticipate, but more importantly, we’re trying to keep people safe,” Kizner told the School Board. “To do that, school staff needs to make some decisions that could cause people to say that this is an overreaction. We have to make the best decisions that are in the best interests of our students.”
Large events are a relatively subjective view and Kizner identified that his determination of what a ‘large event’ could be is different than others. Kizner defined a large event as “bringing people together for purposes of a community discussion, social, recreational, or educational activity that does not occur during the regular school day.”
Kizner has already canceled the annual Fine Arts Festival which usually draws in about 10,000 people to Brooke Point High School. His biggest worry is that the event would draw in many young children and grandparents, the age groups who are most at-risk to being infected by the Coronavirus.
“The experts are saying that we need to minimize people crowding together,” Kizner said.
High school prom and graduation ceremonies are still scheduled to go on as planned but that could change if the outbreak worsens. The final decision will be made after spring break which takes place next week.
Although school officials don’t expect coronavirus to cancel school just yet, contingency plans are being made so that students can continue their education through online learning.
In Kizner’s plan, elementary and middle school students will be given an online platform to learn on their own until normal school days resume. High school students are working more closely with their teachers because the classes are more content-specific.
All families will receive a robocall from the school system detailing as to what will happen if school is canceled. If calls are made to households without internet access, those families will be given a number to call and accommodations will be made.
Kizner said those accommodations will include paper copies of the assignments that will be dropped off at the student’s home.
If schools do close, Kizner and his team are still working out how hourly workers will be paid. After he was asked by a board member, Kizner was unable to provide an answer as to how hourly workers will be paid in his presentation.
Last night, Prince William County Schools, Stafford’s neighbor to the north, announced their plans for school closures if the Coronavirus were to become widespread. Meanwhile, George Mason University is suspending all university-authorized travel.
Universities across the U.S., mainly in the northeast region and on the west coast, have suspended residential classes and are urging students to return home until March 30 at the earliest. The University of Virginia followed the same course of action earlier today.
So far, the virus, which originated in China, has infected 938 people in 39 states. A total of 29 have people who contracted the virus have died.
“I appreciate the precautions,” said Patricia Healy, Griffis-Widewater School Board member. “It’s comforting to know they’re in place and that our education will continue.”
