Schools delay reopening following health report that shows rise in COVID cases

PORTLAND — The decision to delay the reopening of schools until Jan. 19 was made in part because of rising numbers of COVID-19 infections after end-of-the-year holiday gatherings, officials said.

The Board of Education voted 7-0 to resume inschool learning on Jan. 19 for students in kindergarten through sixth grades after hearing from Russell Melmed, the health director for the Chatham Health District.

High school and middle school will continue with the hybrid model learning until Feb. 1.

The district compiles data on infection rates in its member communities on a two-week basis.

Melmed told the board “to expect to see more cases occur.”

Several board members had said during the most recent meeting that they

wanted to see the most upto-date data, to get a better understanding of the virus’s impact. Portland’s infection rate for the two-week period from Dec. 20, 2020 to Jan. 2 was 59.9 per 100,000, state data shows.

With the Christmas and Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve celebrations coming so close together, “you’re going to see some acceleration,” he said.

“We’re in the worse part of pandemic, that’s pretty obvious,” Melmed said.

“It’s not good news, but it’s not unexpected,” he said.

Superintendent of Schools Charles D. Britton acknowledged the coronavirus pandemic has had a wearing effect on parents, teachers, students, and administrators.

Amid uncertainty about re-opening,some parents have demanded that the schools reopen now and other insist they remain closed until the pandemic begins to recede.

That debate, in combination to the virus, the uncertain economy, and political divisions all have added the normal every-day stresses, Britton suggested.

“It’s fair to say that at this point we as Americans are

on the brink of nervous breakdown,” Britton said.

The president of the Portland teachers’ union had earlier told the board her membership wanted to wait to reopen.

Some parents were critical of the union’s stance, expressing dissatisfaction in emails and/or on social media. Board member Laurel A. Steinhauser said while “I actually understand some of the anger” among parents, some comments went too far.

Board Secretary Meg Scata noted, “None of us like all the decisions we sometimes have to make.”

“We try to make the decisions that are best for everybody,” she said. “Our first priority is to safeguard the safety of our students and teachers.”

Board Chairwoman Sharon Peters said as the school administration and board work to come up with workable solutions, it is just as important for the community at large to do its part to help stifle the virus.

The key to a safe reopening rests in large part on “how well everyone in our community follows the guidelines,“she said. “We’re partners in this,” Peters said.

“If there was an easy answer to all this, we would have found it,” Britton said.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Portland town sign.