LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Only three of Kentucky’s 171 school districts are holding in-person classes because of coronavirus restrictions.
Breckinridge County Schools, Cloverport Independent School District, and Crittenden County Schools are the only districts that decided to allow some elementary students to return because their counties’ coronavirus infection rates are not in the state’s “red zone.”
“It was really an easy decision for us,” said Breckinridge County Superintendent Nick Carter. His district reopened its four elementary schools on Dec. 3.
“Our priority is — in our district — is to have our children in in-person learning when it's safe to do so,” he said.
Carter said the schools are following all the safety protocols, but whether they remain open is a week to week decision.
If the community’s infection rate rises into the red zone, an executive order by Gov. Andy Beshear would require schools to pause in-person learning.
“So, I don't know what the future holds for us in our district because, by Thursday, we might very well be in the red,” said Carter.
Sen. Max Wise, chairman of the Senate Education Committee said the color-code system leads to uncertainty and frustration.
“My daughter described it one day as being like a yo-yo,” he said.
Wise called on Beshear to abandon the color-code mandate for schools.
“Let the school districts decide what's best for them instead of it just being an overreach by the governor,” he said. “Most of the outbreaks in the communities are not within the school.”
Beshear said the color-code system is recommended by the CDC, and used by other states.
“What we have relied upon is a standard that we put out, and the education community agreed to on the color-coding map for counties,” he told reporters on Monday.
Beshear's order closing schools in red zones expires Jan. 4, and he said he is working on a plan that would enable schools to have “some form of in-person instruction in red counties.”
Meanwhile, Carter hopes infections do not spike after the holidays. He said a big problem with remote learning in his district is a lack of internet access. He said 30% of his families cannot get high speed internet, or cannot afford it.
“I am a little nervous, but I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to return on Jan. 4, and offer in-person instruction,” he said.
Related Stories:
- Three of Kentucky's 171 school districts reopen elementary classrooms this week
- Beshear defends order halting in-person classes at religious schools to Supreme Court
- Gov. Beshear orders public, private schools to close classrooms starting Monday
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