Perrin announces its tentative back to school plans School starts Aug. 27

PERRIN – After much discussion of community fear and trepidation heading into the upcoming 2020-21 school year, board members here decide to give teachers another eight days to prepare for the start of school.

The first day of school was moved from Aug. 19 on the original calendar to Aug. 27. Much of the two-hour regular meeting had to do with the proposed plan for school. Superintendent Cliff Gilmore told board members that he had heard several concerns from teachers from surveys handed out to decide to delay the start of school by a week.

“The teachers are going to have a lot more work online and in-person,” Gilmore explained. “Backing up the dates will give them additional chances to get ready.”

Gilmore also wanted the additional time to show the proposed plan to board members and members of the COVID and District Improvement Team as well as the transportation team to get their thoughts. Board members said the plan, which uses what other schools are doing, is “an excellent framework.” before sending it off to the community late this week for their thoughts. Delaying the start of school eight days will not have any impact on when school ends, Gilmore said.

“We had days banked up in the number of minutes children are in classroom, so we’re fine there,” Gilmore said. “Teachers will still arrive on the 10th with the kids on the 27th.”

The school day for kids will run from 7:51 a.m. to 3:38 p.m. For those students that need tutorials either virtual or in person, teachers will be at school from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Gilmore said the tutorial before or after school could be for virtual students only with in-person tutorials using the other tutorial time. That will need to be worked out.

Parent Kathleen Hamilton said her daughter has severe asthma and she fears sending her child to school because of other parents.

“Kids are sent to school sick and the parents know it,” Hamilton said. “We have many kids who are coming home with a fever and they were fine when they left home.”

Hamilton asked if the district will be doing any kind of checking of students before they get into the school building each day such as taking temps. Gilmore said there will be sanitizer on the buses which students will be required to use.

“We’re doing as much as we can do, but a lot of this has to be up to the parents,” Board President Chris Keeney said.

The district has ordered sanitizer, both reusable and disposable masks, sanitizing wipes for the schools and are considering hiring another maintenance person to assist. Proactiveness in parents was brought up again.

“It’s not feasible for children to be six feet apart, five days a week, eight hours a day,” Board Vice President Mark Sims explained.

Board member Darren Francis asked parents to not send students to school sick as they are “oblivious as to what is going on,” particularly in the younger grades.

Elementary students have been ordered Chromebooks for their use and the district has ordered more hotspots for those that don’t have internet service at home, Gilmore said.

Talk of going to school or going virtual the whole time had Sims suggesting that each student gets one switch per six weeks. Decisions could be reversed on a case-by-case basis.

“We don’t want to paint ourselves into a corner but I think we add the language on this,” Sims said.

Gilmore said keeping the students separated as much as possible will be key.He said with some of the grade size in the secondary school and just the older kids’ nature of the beast, that may be difficult.

“Our classes are small enough at the elementary where we can split them up and keep the six-feet social distancing and all that,” Gilmore said. “Our classes in grades 7-10 are over 30 students each and that’s the age where they mingle. It’s a good plan, but how do we keep that mingling from going on?”

In response to extracurricular activities, children that go to school virtually will not be able to take part in extracurricular activities. After talking to his athletic director and his two principals, Gilmore said it was felt that if you’re too sick to come to school, you’re too sick to sompete.

This also includes FFA and UIL competitions as well.