School districts making plans to return to class

IMPERIAL — Since there are no waivers required by the state now to resume in-person instruction for elementary school children, local school districts are looking into this option.

The county, however, still needs to meet the metric of 25 COVID-19 cases daily for every 100,000 in population for seven straight days before schools would be allowed to open.

As of Friday, the state recorded the county’s positivity rate at an adjusted 40.6 cases per 100,000 residents.

School districts would need to submit two safety plans to the Imperial County Public Health Department for approval so that kindergarten to sixthgrade in-person classes can reopen.

“We will move forward when the metrics are reached and submit our plans to the county health department to be approved,” said Imperial Unified School District Superintendent Bryan Thomason.

He said it will be a hybrid model with different hours and days to be phased in over time with different grade levels to maximize the safety of its students and staff and help minimize a potential outbreak of COVID-19.

“When our public health circumstances improve and we can safely reopen our facilities you will be notified and given an opportunity to have your children attend in a hybrid model,” Thomason wrote to parents last week.

The hybrid model will potentially have different hours and days as opposed to the regular bell schedule to maximize the safety of the students and staff and help minimize a potential outbreak of COVID-19.

“We all want to return to the regular schedule as quickly as possible,” he said.

The Brawley Elementary School District does not plan on waiting to see where the numbers fall before submitting its plans to the county health officer.

“Our reopening plans are ready and we will be submitting them to the county health department probably next week, regardless of the case rate,” said BESD Superintendent Richard Rundhaug. “We are looking at possible options.”

Rundhaug said he checked with a parent from Imperial Unified, and they told him no notification of a return using the hybrid model has been communicated to their family, and the BESD won’t be using a hybrid model either.

“We will not be offering the hybrid model immediately,” he said. “The other options we are considering I cannot comment on publicly because I need to vet them through several groups.

The teachers union has been pushing back against schools reopening, which is one group Rundhaug said he will need to vet and meet with to get its opinions.

School officials in the El Centro Elementary School District have told teachers and staff there is a possibility schools could reopen this year, but did not give any additional information.

Calexico Unified School Board Member Ciro Calderon said the board has yet to meet to discuss the new declining COVID numbers.

However, in his own opinion, he said the Calexico Unified School District has more concerns on reopening schools than other county schools.

He said he wants the numbers to go down, but what concerns him is not to have situations like in San Diego County, where a school had an outbreak and needed to quarantine.

“We want to be 100 percent sure that our kids will be safe before we open up the schools,” Calderon said.

He pointed out that Calexico is right next to the border and that the Calexico district is the largest one in the county.

“We have K-6 and 7-12, and for us it is more complex,” he said.

“We have different concerns. We are a unified school district.”