Some note frustration with lack of community involvement in planning
Despite some testy exchanges with spectators and speakers during its meeting Monday night, the Attala County School Board voted to reopen schools on Aug. 17, just as the Kosciusko School board had last week.
A group of more than 25 people filled the perimeter of the room, some hoping to provide input before the school calendar decision was made, but when board member Vernita Rayford proposed moving an agenda item allowing the Pastors/Ministers of West Attala County to speak earlier than scheduled, her effort was thwarted. Although fellow board member Camille Riley-Smith backed Rayford’s motion, Chairman Christy Moody and members Rodger Clark and Janice Dees did not, leaving the speakers’ opportunity to participate at the very end of the evening’s agenda.
The board worked its way through approving resignations, accepting staff’s out-of-district students, approving district financials, and approving resolutions going ahead with obtaining $1.1 million in loans for infrastructure projects before the school calendar was addressed.
The board and Superintendent Kyle Hammond discussed the reasoning behind the Aug. 17 start date. Hammond said that if staff does not work the week ending Aug. 21, it will not receive a paycheck in August and will also therefore be ineligible for health insurance for the month of September. Should Governor Tate Reeves further push back school openings statewide, he would likely make allowances to prevent such losses from occurring, as well.
Audience members began talking, some raising their hands to ask questions about the reopening and related issues.
“This is a board meeting and we have to handle board business,” said Chairman Christy Moody. “We can’t keep stopping and taking questions.”
After approving the calendar, the board then reviewed the district’s virtual learning program, which includes working to have wifi available at all the area volunteer fire stations, according to Hammond. The district also intends to provide all virtual students with Chromebooks and MiFi devices, if necessary.
Thus far, about 272 of the district’s estimated 1,000 students have opted for virtual learning, for a rate of about 30%. Following the meeting, Hammond said the district has extended the timeframe during which guardians can transfer their students between in-person and virtual learning options until Labor Day.
According to Hammond, the district likely has enough devices for virtual students, but still has not received the state funding to purchase the MiFi devices, which many students in rural areas without broadband will have to rely upon for connectivity to the virtual learning platforms.
Later in the meeting, when the potential lack of necessary devices for virtual learning was brought up again, school officials said their hands are tied. They cannot place orders until they have a state-approved plan and have received the funding from the state, they said. This will likely lead to school starting without the necessary devices in the hands of students enrolled in virtual learning.
“We have a place where we are going to order from, but we must meet the federal and state purchasing requirements,” Hammond told the audience. “That’s all the discussion we will have.”
Asked if virtual students will be considered truant if they do not complete the 240 minutes of daily virtual instruction due to lack of a device or connectivity, Hammond said they would be held accountable.
“That is why on July 17 we started calling those parents and explaining to them about the requirement that students complete 240 minutes of instruction each day,” he said.
As a backup, virtual students who do not have connectivity on either a short-term or long-term basis can be provided assignments on paper, but Smith noted that doing so increases the possibility transmitting the virus in both directions.
Following a unanimous vote endorsing the virtual education plan, the board moved through numerous other topic discussions including the approval of some certified staff, suspension and approval of various district policies due to the pandemic, and consideration of three transfer requests. Only one of the three out-of-district transfers was approved, since teachers in other districts are permitted by law to have their children attend the district where they teach.
It was only then that the Pastors/Ministers of West Attala County were invited to speak, though only one of its members was permitted to represent the group.
Katherine Weatherby opened by mentioning that the group had wanted to speak at the board’s June 29 meeting, but was not allowed since they had not requested to be on the agenda in advance.
“We come before you all to try to be of help,” she said before asking how the board had undertaken the decision-making process regarding the reopening of schools. She asked about the local version of a task force recommended by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).
“This isn’t a question and answer period,” said Moody, who invited Weatherby to continue with her comments. “I will tell you that this is set up in a way that we’re trying to cover what is best for everyone.”
Hammond said a task force was simply a recommendation, not a requirement, from state education officials and that the district consulted with the local medical community, similar school districts, the Kosciusko School District, the MDE and the state’s Chief Health Officer in developing its plans.
Weatherby said many guardians and students feel the policy banning virtual students from extra-curricular activities and sports is unfair and punitive.
“They are athletes and they are penalized for choosing virtual learning,” she told the board.
Moody said that rule was intended not as a punishment for anyone, but a means for protecting students, teachers and staff.
“If they are not in the classroom, you are intermingling even more people…. That could bring additional exposure (to the virus),” she said. “I can tell you everybody in this room wants what’s best for our children and some of you act as though we don’t.”
When Weatherby continued to ask specific questions about sanitation and other detailed aspects of the reopening plan, she was referred to the district website.
Hammond again noted that all of the plans follow CDC recommendations and are similar to those of other districts across the country.
Still, Weatherby said, the community should have had more input before decisions were made.
“Nobody here is pointing fingers. I’m not angry at anybody here,” she said, “but COVID-19 is too big for six members (the board and superintendent), but we were prevented from helping.”
