After 1-day delay, classes reopen

“I’m not going to apologize for looking out for the health of my school district.”

— David Goodin, SpringFord superintendent

ROYERSFORD » One day after postponing the rest of the Spring-Ford School Area School District’s return to partial in-person instruction, the administration reversed course again, re-instating the initiative for Tuesday classes.

The back-and-forth angered many parents, who showed up in force both inperson and online to vent their frustration at Monday night’s school board meeting.

In both cases, the notification from the district came with less than 24 hours notice. In the case of Monday’s notice, it did not come until about 8:30 p.m., only after the school board had reaffirmed its commitment to returning to in-person instruction for the upper grades.

In-person learning has been in place for the elementary grades for several weeks, but the return for upper grades, made more potentially dangerous by the constant changes of classrooms, was held off until Dec. 7.

However on Sunday, Dec. 6, Superintendent David Goodin issued a notice to the Spring-Ford community canceling all in-person education, including the elementary grades, for the day.

At Monday’s meeting, Goodin explained that he “pushed the pause button in order to have this discussion.”

He said that the increase in coronavirus cases in the townships and boroughs that comprise the district, and in surrounding districts as well, led him to decide that the school board should re-affirm its commitment to returning to inperson teaching.

He pointed out that because the district’s infection rate is categorized as “significant,” state rules dictate that a 14-day rolling average will be kept for every school building and when certain thresholds are crossed — like 11 positive cases in the high school — the building will be closed to be cleaned and so contact tracing can be conducted.

“Some may say it was a decision made from fear, and that may be, but if you’ve had COVID, I think it might change your perspective on the matter,” Goodin said. “I can tell you firsthand that you can get COVID from an asymptomatic teen. It’s real.”

“And I want to make sure the community is aware of that. We need to be sure our families have a contingency plan. It’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when,’” he said.

The decision to “hit the pause button” and be sure the board and community was prepared for these possibilities “wasn’t done to cause anybody any unnecessary angst, but I’m not going to apologize for looking out for the health of my school district,” said Goodin. “If you want to criticize me for that, I can take that.”

There was no shortage of people who took him up on his offer.

“Every task you have been asked to work on has turned into a circus. I don’t believe your reason to close today. Your community doesn’t trust you,” said one person who commented inperson and whose name was hard to hear. “You don’t know how to lead.”

“I had a 10-year-old sobbing in my arms because she didn’t know when she was going back to school,” said another speaker whose name could not be discerned.

“Now it turns out it was only for one day just to make a point,” she said adding that Goodin “does not care about the students.”

“Who made you king?” as one speaker, who said she is a Realtor and that she is losing sales because of how the school district is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

“If you worked in the private sector,” you’d be fired immediately, said another speaker.

Elaine Moore was among several employees who were silenced by the district’s solicitor, who told them to speak to their supervisor about complaints. Before she was silenced, Moore said “I do not feel safe when working in cafeteria with 100 children unmasked during lunch.”

“The people just don’t trust you any more,” said Chris Martinez, who was among a number of speakers who participated in the meeting remotely. “I think it’s a disgrace what you guys have done. I wish you would resign tonight. We don’t need you anymore.”

But others supported Goodin’s decision. “Health care workers are being pushed to their limit,” said Erica Love. She asked the board to keep schools virtual until after the winter break. The CDC says January and February are going to be the “be most difficult health crisis in the nation’s history,” she said.

Caroline Myer, a 2017 graduate of Spring-Ford High School, said “the students can’t go back when hospitals are full. This is life or death, and you’re worried about mental health? What will it do to their mental health go to your funeral?”

Maggie Swahl told the parents expressing concern about their children’s mental and emotional health due to isolation that while the district should provide counselors, that parents also have an obligation to “please make a plan for your child’s mental health. This is not going away.”