Open Them Up...
It's hard to believe that we are approaching another month of having to endure the uncertainties, twists, turns, and anxieties that have been thrust into our lives due to COVID. Just when you think you have something figured out, there's new research, rules, suggestions, etc. About the most certain thing that we have all learned to live with is that things are going to change (hopefully always for the better). The biggest concern and question that continues to be at the front of everyone's mind is when will school return to normal and will it be like it was before? Clearly, schools will be open 5 days a week for every student that wants to attend sometime in the future. President Biden has continuously said this week that he wants all schools fully open with 100 days, although he has not provided any detail on how this is going to happen or what it will look like. As you know, social distancing requirements within schools continues to be the number one barrier to schools being fully open. In most general places of society, social distancing is requested, encouraged, but not enforced. The Governor has gone far enough to show the infection rates by type and local/public spread opportunities are significantly low on that chart. It's home spread that causes the issues more than anything, and this is due to mask wearing. Research has also shown the effectiveness of masks in reducing probably of transmission. I have said since July/August, and will continue to advocate for this, that the best option for schools is to be open with whoever wants to attend in-person, masks required for everyone, and do your best to socially distance. If a student or family is uncomfortable with possible issues, they have the right to keep their child home and be educated virtually. This is exactly how public society is working, so why can't it work for schools? The answer is social distancing requirements. We are required to ensure that students are spaced 6 feet apart in the classroom while seated at their desks. As we know, this significantly limits the number of students that can fit in a school at any given time. Below is a chart from a recent Mayo Clinic research study on mask wearing and clearly shows that both parties (one positive person, one negative person) being masked, even within 1 foot of each other has a less than 1% chance of transmitting the virus. It can be done folks, we simply need to hope that our leaders in Washington and Albany see that we can educate our kids, in our schools, safely and effectively. COVID is not going away and the vaccine only protects an individual from contracting the virus, but it is possible that a vaccinated person can still carry and transmit the virus. 100 years later, we have not eradicated the flu. Let's continue to study this virus and follow the research that helps us learn how to get our schools open for our kids and begin to get that normalcy back into our lives. However, until social distancing requirements for our schools are relaxed or omitted, there is no option to fully open them up.
Final Testing Reminder
The next two weeks will be our testing window to keep our schools open past February 5. In order to remain open, schools that are in the state's designated Yellow Zone will need 20% of the in-person students and staff to test with a positive result rate less than the regional rolling average. The 20% is comprised of the total school population, not 20% of students and 20% of the staff. Thanks to the recent response rate on our testing registration forms, no school is jeopardy of not achieving that mark. Some schools do need a few more volunteers and if you have not registered for an in-school test next week, please contact your child's school or visit our website. Also, test results from an off-campus test site are permissible, as long as the test was conducted between January 25 and February 6. If you have a test at a municipal site and want to share those results, please submit a copy of your result documentation to your school nurse. To see a demonstration of the testing process, please view this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Yac3YecQJwc&feature=youtu.be
Winter Athletics Update
You may have seen that late Friday, the Governor has given the go ahead for high risk winter sports to resume practices and competitions. There is still a little to sort out with this as it was placed on the counties to determine if they would like sports to operate or not. Also, each individual section may have slightly different requirements and parameters. At this time, there are no details from Oneida County or Section III on this topic, but we can expect to see more information this week. If permitted locally, athletics are cleared to begin practice on February 1, at this time.
State Budget Released
As you may know, the Governor has recently released his budget, along with potential school aid figures. While there is good news to be had, the unfortunate part of the state aid outlook is that it is littered with uncertainties. On the good side, schools are seeing a slight increase in TOTAL revenue as a part of the state budget. Unfortunately, this increase is created by a reduction in actual state aid which is supplemented with the most recent federal stimulus funds. While this is good for this year, it means a true reduction in state aid which will be concerning for future years. Also, districts did see a 20% reduction in their final payment for the 19-20 school year and it is still possible that funds for this current school year will be held by the state. On another positive note, the current aid projections are the worst case scenario as they are built on the $6 billion federal stimulus figure. If the state were to get more funding from Washington, it is possible that more aid will flow to schools. We just need to hope that doesn't happen with further reductions from state support. Again, this coming budget cycle will not be great, but it shouldn't be armageddon. It's the future that we need to ensure we keep our eyes on.
