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Hello from the OPS special school board meeting. Three school board members asked for this meeting. Here's why: https://omaha.com/news/local/education/3-ops-board-members-seek-special-meeting-on-districts-next-steps/article_da38ebaa-1274-5dbd-abbd-a4c41464e7dd.html
All nine members of the board are present. There's only one item on the agenda. The board will discuss remote learning and future plans.
Superintendent Cheryl Logan said tonight the board will discuss where the district is now and future plans. She said everyone wants to be back in school but health conditions can change at any time.
The meeting is starting with a presentation by district officials. OPS Chief Operations Officer Lisa Sterba starts the presentation. Sterba said the district should be able to route and bus 18,500 students to school with two weeks notice.
OPS Chief Human Resource Officer Charles Wakefield said hiring during a pandemic has been difficult. Staffing levels are slightly lower than usual but it's not significant, he said. District-wide OPS is approximately 98% staffed.
Melissa Comine, chief academic officer for OPS, said when it's safe to return to school some programs will be able to return five days a week and others should return in the Family 3/2 Model.
Steve Eubanks, OPS supervisor of athletics, said OPS is creating a proposal to submit to the NSAA for fall student-athletes to participate in the spring. More on that here: https://omaha.com/sports/high-school/ops-seeks-to-play-fall-sports-in-the-spring/article_972f2efb-ba2f-58ac-8169-42b1c1376ab2.html
Jeremy Maskel, spokesman for the district, said OPS values open communication with students, families, staff and the community. He said he the district has been providing weekly updates via the health and safety newsletter.
Maskel said he knows stakeholders have questions about what's next. He said that's why OPS has been providing updates in the newsletter.
Logan said these are the metrics for a 100% return to school:
-Testing Availability – the ability to test staff and students quickly (same day if needed) with a less-than 48-hour turnaround for results
-Community spread controlled at 50 cases per million
-Testing Availability – the ability to test staff and students quickly (same day if needed) with a less-than 48-hour turnaround for results
-Community spread controlled at 50 cases per million
-Positivity rate below 5%, ideally below 3%
-Staff Impact – Ability to operate a school/program
-Staff Impact – Ability to operate a school/program
Logan said hitting that 5% rate any time soon is unlikely.
She said there needs to be a conversation about risk. She said kids can't stay home forever but they can also take something home to parents or grandparents.
She said there needs to be a conversation about risk. She said kids can't stay home forever but they can also take something home to parents or grandparents.
Logan said the kids that often need to be in school the most also have some of the biggest risk factors. Logan is presenting a draft of a phased approach to returning to school. There are no dates in the draft.
Special education students would return first, then elementary, middle and then high school students. Logan said the district is working on a partnership that would allow the district to get rapid testing done but she declined to give details.
The board will now have the opportunity to ask questions of district officials.
OPS board member Tracy Casady asks if the district has enough substitute teachers. Wakefield said the pandemic is making it harder to find substitute teachers. Some are worried about the health risks and others are worried about teaching remotely.
Wakefield is asked if there's a specific number of missing staff that would cause a building to shut down. Wakefield said there's no number and it often depends on the building. He said the question is always if staff can deliver instruction to students effectively.
"We are asking so much of our teachers," Logan said. Teachers have been asked to teach remotely, asked to plan for the Family 3/2 Model and now are being asked to do a hybrid of the two, she said.
School board member Ben Perlman is asking Dr. Kristine McVea, chief medical officer of OneWorld Community Health Centers about this new directed health measure for teachers. McVea is here to answer medical questions from the board. https://omaha.com/news/local/education/new-quarantine-rules-for-teachers-could-keep-nebraska-schools-open/article_71e3db57-bde1-5b5d-9744-5bede5cbafd9.html
McVea said she thinks that directed health measure is a recognition of the practical realities of trying to accommodate very important functions in society. She said OPS could have more stringent requirements to protect staff members.
McVea said it's hard to find places to test children right now. Test Nebraska has not been a good resource for people who struggle with literacy or tech literacy. To navigate Test Nebraska, she said, you have to have an email address and know how to fill out the online forms.
Steve Eubanks, supervisor of athletics, said individuals can now use facilities like the Burke track. The facilities cannot be used by large groups. Playgrounds are also open but they are not being cleaned regularly.
Board member Lou Ann Goding asks Eubanks if coaches and athletic directors were involved with the decision to play fall sports this spring.
Eubanks said coaches and athletic directors want to play right now and sometimes they get focused on that and not on the health and safety of all students in the district. He said fall sports coaches filled out surveys about the plan and there were negative comments.
Eubanks said there are complex issues with having fall sports this spring. There are club sports in the spring like softball and volleyball. Eubanks said talks with the NSAA are ongoing and there is more to figure out.
Goding said she wants to see OPS allow some fall sports. She said her heart breaks for athletes that play individual sports like tennis or cross country.
OPS Board Marque Snow said professional sports are struggling to play during a pandemic.
OPS Board Marque Snow said professional sports are struggling to play during a pandemic.
Board member Tracy Casady said no one wants things to be this way but we are in the middle of a pandemic. She said she's disappointed other districts have not joined OPS in not having sports this fall.
"Sports are huge but we are trying to keep our eye on the bigger picture."
"Sports are huge but we are trying to keep our eye on the bigger picture."
Board member Nancy Kratky said the majority of the mail she's received from constituents has been about athletics. One email said if another kid gets COVID then "so what."
Board member Ricky Smith said he used to coach in the district. He knows sports are important but he said he feels just as strongly about keeping kids alive. He said he's more worried about the 54,000 students in OPS vs. the 11 kids in the huddle.
The meeting is ongoing but I have a deadline. The tweets are going to slow down.
