Keller school district will reopen after 1 week delay, board votes at emergency meeting
Keller school board officials unanimously voted Monday to delay the reopening of schools for a week and let parents choose whether to send their kids back to school for in-person learning or to enroll in virtual learning due to COVID-19.
The school board made the decision after a three-hour-long emergency meeting at the Education Center in Keller. The school year, which was set to start on Aug. 19, will now begin on Aug. 26. The first three days — Aug. 26-28 — will have early dismissal.
During the public comment section of the meeting, about 40 parents, teachers and community members spoke passionately about whether the school district should mandate in-person or remote learning. Keller officials announced last week that school would begin Aug. 19 and families could choose whether to attend classes in person or remotely.
Most teachers who spoke at the meeting implored board members to delay in-person learning, while the majority of parents asked the board to let their kids return to school as soon as possible — although there were outliers on both sides.
Trustee Cindy Lotton emphasized she wants to give parents a choice of whether to let their kids learn online or in person. Trustee Beverly Dixon said she received and analyzed 318 emails to make her decision.
Trustee Craig Allen said while he feels they are ready to open, he reminded parents who “are demanding we open and demanding teachers do this for you” to take their share of responsibility and make sure their kids wear masks and follow safety procedures.
“I’m in favor of us opening,” he said. “I like the delay, but there should be no compromise on our policies and precautions. And parents, if your kid isn’t going to follow them, your kid isn’t going to be in our school.”
Virtual learning
Anna Morrison, a theater director at Keller ISD, said when she is working, she is in contact with 600 students every day. During her five years at KISD, she’s caught the flu four times. She said she does not think Keller ISD is ready to provide a physically safe environment for kids, teachers or staff.
“Please remember what we teach our students, which is, it is better to be safe than sorry,” she said.
Dr. Richard Ward, who has four kids in KISD, told the board that the district’s plan to mitigate the spread of coronavirus was as comprehensive as possible — and it still wouldn’t be enough.
“I want kids back in schools as badly as anyone,” Ward said. “But I can’t endorse a plan that I feel strongly would result in increased COVID-19 transmission in schools, the community and our city.”
He said Tarrant County still has widespread transmission, and sending children to school would cause significant outbreak.
One teacher said mandating masks for students would be impossible and pointed out that many in the crowd at the meeting had their masks pulled down to their chins, or took them off entirely while speaking.
Daniel Ward, a science teacher at Timber Creek High School, said he loves his students like his own children, but he does not think the district is ready for in-person learning.
“I feel that as a district we are rushing into a preventable situation that will lead to people becoming ill, and ultimately, deaths of our teacher, students and staff,” Ward said.
One high school junior in the district told the board and attendees that he misses school, like everyone, but he does not think it’s safe to return yet.
“If you care about my life —not my social life, my actual life — you will rethink your decision to let me and other children into a crowded building during a pandemic,” he said.
Back to school
Parents who took the podium Monday night argued both sides of the back-to-school argument. Those in favor of sending their children back on Aug. 19 talked about the kids’ mental health needs and the importance of education.
Some parents said their kids are not able to learn remotely. A family nurse practitioner in Keller said she has dealt with COVID-19 patients, and children rarely develop significant health problems from the virus. She said she’s treated more teenagers with anxiety and depression than she ever has during the pandemic, and has treated special needs children who are regressing because they aren’t in school.
“Teachers, you are essential, and we need you on the frontlines,” she said.
Another parent said one of his children who attends KISD has autism, and needs to go back to school. He said if the district reopens, people who do not want to send their children do not have to, but if the district goes online, he and others have their choices taken away.
“Their fears don’t trump my rights,” he said.
Parent Sandy Walker said she has six children, two of whom graduated from the district. She said as a youth group leader at a Keller church, she’s seen firsthand a mental health crisis among youth. She read aloud messages that she said were from young people she’s talked to, many of which referenced depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety.
“And the one I’ve heard many times is, ‘At least when I’m at school, my dad can’t hit me,’” she said.
One teacher, Shelley Harrison, said she wants to return to the classroom immediately and feels safe doing so. She said she feels that her job is to be there for those who are most vulnerable, and right now, those are the children in the district.
Safety precautions
Hudson Huff, executive director of facility services, spoke to the board about resources the district has in order to keep students and teachers safe.
The district has about 218,000 disposable masks, hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies for teachers. The district can install Plexiglass in specific spaces and post signs encouraging the use of masks on campus, he said. Disinfecting wands can be used to sanitize classrooms at the end of the school day.
Items on Monday night’s agenda included various options for the 2020-21 school year, including:
Changing the school start date; changing some fall school days to half days during the first few days of the school year; and using “transition time” allowed under the Texas Education Agency to begin the year partially remotely.
The Texas Education Agency has said schools that begin the school year with remote instruction only will continue to be funded for up to eight weeks. But after those eight weeks, schools must reopen fully. Online instruction can continue to be offered to families who prefer it, but the agency will require daily on-campus instruction as well.
On July 28, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding guidance that states public health authorities may not close schools “for the sole purpose of preventing future COVID-19 infections.”
The announcement came one week after Tarrant County’s top health officials issued an order requiring the first six weeks of school to be online only because of the growth in coronavirus cases. Health authorities said their goal was to keep students at home until several weeks after the Labor Day holiday to avoid a potential spike in cases that could spread through schools.
