LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Most members of the Jefferson County Board of Education say they prefer to start the 2020-21 school year with nontraditional instruction rather than allowing students to return to in-person instruction, suggesting that parents in Kentucky’s largest school district should prepare for distance learning.
The school board will vote on two options for Jefferson County Public Schools to begin 2020-21 during its meeting Tuesday: starting the year with an updated distance learning plan or offering parents the choice between sending their children back to school or enrolling them in virtual classes.
Six of the seven school boards members who spoke to WDRB News on Wednesday say they will vote to start the year with nontraditional instruction since cases of COVID-19, which abruptly halted in-person learning throughout the state in the closing weeks of the 2019-20 school year, are rising in Kentucky.
Only Diane Porter, the board's chairwoman who represents District 1, did not disclose how she intended to vote.
“I’m always in favor of whenever possible of giving parents a choice, and I had hoped to be able to do that with this decision as well,” said Chris Kolb, the board’s vice chairman who represents District 2. “... But with what’s looking like a resurgence, especially nationally and starting to tick up here in Kentucky, I just don’t see how it’s possible to have many kids back in-person.”
"NTI will be the most effective way to keep our students and our staff safe and to ensure that we participate in the mitigation of COVID-19 and ensuring that all of our students continue to be educated in an excellent manner," said Corrie Shull, who represents District 6.
JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio would not disclose the district's official recommendation for starting the 2020-21 school year until Thursday but told reporters that his administration's views align with the majority of board members.
"It's very difficult for me to make a recommendation that could lead to one of our children or staff members becoming sick and possibly dying," he said. "... We have been very concerned about the growing number of COVID-19 cases in our community."
Chris Brady, who represents District 7, worries that without a COVID-19 vaccine, students may be learning remotely for the entire 2020-21 school year. The most optimistic scenario for the development and release of a vaccine will be by the end of the year, but he believes a more realistic timeline will be by spring “if the stars align.”
“It’s very possible that that would happen, and this has been a big concern I had at the onset of this,” Brady said. “... This was my biggest fear, and it also unfortunately seems to be the most likely scenario that we’re facing.”
JCPS, like other school districts, are crafting reopening plans based on the state’s “Healthy at School” guidance, which included social distancing, masking, health screenings and greater cleaning if classes resume in-person learning.
But a recent survey by the Jefferson County Teachers Association found that about two-thirds of nearly 4,000 respondents preferred starting 2020-21 school year remotely rather than a blend of in-person and virtual learning.
Joe Marshall, who represents District 4 and teaches fourth grade at West End School, shares the concerns of many JCPS teachers, particularly those who work in elementary schools. He also favors starting the school year with nontraditional instruction.
“A high percentage of my day already before the pandemic was telling people to keep their hands to themselves, so you can imagine what it would be like with this heightened awareness of social distancing when it comes to kids,” he said.
James Craig, who represents District 3, added that without broader social acceptance of health guidance like wearing masks in public spaces, expecting students to follow them will be difficult.
“We have government officials in the state of Kentucky fighting efforts to contain this disease,” he said. “That tells me we’re nowhere close to reaching a consensus on what it’s going to take to get us to the other side of this pandemic in the state of Kentucky.”
Linda Duncan, who represents District 5, says reopening JCPS schools to in-person instruction will put adults and children alike at risk.
“For me, the priority is to help preserve the lives of our staff, our students and our caregivers more than preserving in-person instruction,” she said.
Craig noted that 20 COVID-19 cases had been identified in Kentucky children in recent days, and Duncan said the only way she would change her mind on starting the school year remotely would be if medical experts say unequivocally that children couldn’t transmit COVID-19.
“We can’t risk it,” Duncan said.
While Porter declined to say how she plans to vote Tuesday, her decision will be based on the safety of all involved with JCPS.
"Because the (COVID-19) numbers are rising, because we're not as safe as we were a little while ago, I'm very concerned," she said.
Porter says she hopes to get a better understanding of how JCPS will enhance virtual learning options as well as meet the needs of vulnerable student populations like disabled students, English learners and homeless children.
"What are our plans for reaching out and hopefully embracing and getting these students engaged with a virtual process if that's how we start our school year?" she asked.
Like other board members, Porter said most of the feedback she's heard from families has been against returning to in-person classes.
That's despite pressure from President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who have threatened to withhold federal funding from school districts that don't reopen in the fall.
Most federal funding comes through school meal reimbursements and through grants that benefit low-income and disabled students.
Both have suggested that reopening schools will help working parents, something most board members say they understand for those who work in essential jobs particularly.
"Something that I think we need to talk about as a board and with Dr. Pollio is can we open a very limited number of facilities for kids that fall into that category," Kolb said. "This is one of those situations where there is no right answer."
Some board members said they hoped area employers would allow parents to work from home as much as possible.
Marshall said working from home should be viewed as part of a "community effort" to provide education for children during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"All of us have to do what's best for all of us, and it's not going to be ideal," he said. "It's not going to be perfect for anyone, but we have to do what we have to do to make sure that we defeat this virus."
Craig said JCPS can't be treated like Louisville's "main source of child care."
"If the city of Louisville is looking to the Jefferson County Public Schools system to provide child care, there's something really flawed with the way the city of Louisville is thinking about public education," he said when asked about those who want schools to reopen so parents can return to work.
Some board members also criticized federal policymakers for threatening to pull federal funds from school districts that don't reopen in the fall as JCPS is poised to do.
Brady called such a decision "cold."
"It would adversely affect some of our most neediest kids," he said. "At the same time though, I'm not concerned about the president's reelection campaign and playing politics with the safety of our kids."
For his part, Shull said Trump's and DeVos's positions on withholding federal money from school districts based on their reopening plans should galvanize voters in November.
"I think the best thing we can do is focus our attention on the election in November and get him out of the White House because if we don't, this COVID-19 crisis can extend and become an even more severe crisis if we continue with incompetent federal leadership," he said.
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