The USD 253 Board of Education has approved the adoption, but not the immediate implementation, of state gating criteria for the upcoming school year.
Board members voted 5-2 in favor of the motion made by board member Art Guttierez. The vote followed a previous vote of 5-2 to not approve the recommended criteria as originally presented.
Gutierrez stated throughout the evening that he feels it is important to “follow the science” while navigating the upcoming year.
The criteria will go into effect three weeks after the start of the school year on Sept. 2. Superintendent Kevin Case stated he has some concerns with this course of action.
Board member Leslie Seeley stated she was in favor of this action in order to give students and families plenty of time to prepare for the coming change.
Board President Mike Crouch and Grant Riles both voted no on the motion. Riles stated he feels more in favor of following the district’s previous reopening plans.
Crouch stated the criteria should be a guide rather than a director for the upcoming year.
Once the criteria is implemented, the severity of restrictions will be based on where the district is on the state’s proposed severity levels. According to the state’s criteria, there are four levels of severity that a district can be placed into all of which carry different restrictions and requirements. The four levels include green, yellow, orange and red. During Wednesday’s meeting Case stated it was his understanding that at this time the district was in the orange category.
Given this designation, if the board had approved the criteria as presented Wednesday, all extracurricular activities would have been disallowed, elementary education would have been placed into a hybrid model and secondary education would have begun as remote only.
The criteria designation is based on local health metrics including but not limited to the two-week positive percentage rate and the cumulative incident rate per 100,000 people.
A district COVID-19 committee will be formed to help determine where the district is on that chart when it comes time for implementation of the gating criteria. That committee will be led by Superintendent Case.
Prior to the board’s decision, members entertained a 90-minute public comment period where district patrons, staff and students were given the opportunity to weigh in on the topic. The major focus of many parents as it pertains to the gating criteria is the impact it could have on their student’s ability to attend in-person classes and participate in extracurricular activities.
Emporia High School Theatre Director Kacey Hastings took time to advocate for EHS theatre students and their right to perform. Hastings stated while athletes and sports programs have been at the center focus of discussions as of late, it is important to remember they are not the only ones affected.
EHS biology teacher Erica Huggard spoke in favor of the gating criteria stating it would eliminate the possibility of emotional and biased decision making.
District parent Brandi Galbreath was adamantly opposed to the criteria as originally presented.
She says students, specifically student-athletes, have been isolated long enough due to the pandemic and they have been doing everything right up to this point.
Whitney Thuma expressed her support of the criteria stating the potential cancellation of athletics does not outweigh the potential long-lasting effects COVID-19 could have on an individual.
Until the criteria goes into place on Sept. 23, the district will utilize its previously approved learning models for elementary and secondary education, including the start of extracurricular activities. Those models are available on the district’s website.
The USD 253 Board of Education is scheduled to next meet Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 7 pm both online and in-person at the Mary Herbert Education Center.
Gating Criteria: Kansas State Department of Education
{gallery}082720 Gating KSDE{/gallery}
Gating Criteria: USD 253 Emporia Public Schools
{gallery}082720 Gating USD 253{/gallery}
Gating Criteria: Lyon County Public Health
{gallery}082720 Gating LCPH{/gallery}
