Panel gets input on opening schools

WESTTOWN » Like a small boat piloted by a lone captain during a hurricane, school districts grapple with how to best educate and keep students and staff safe during the ongoing pandemic.

Districts have been directed to individually decide how to best serve students with little firm input from the state, according to several members of a Pennsylvania Senate Panel, held Tuesday at Rustin High School.

The hybrid panel, with both inperson and virtual participants, was designed to discuss how to open schools safely and was organized by Sen. Tom Killion, R9th, of Middletown, who is seeking reelection this year.

“There is much uncertainty,” said Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., Education Committee Chairman.

“I feel frustration and a lack of clarity from everyone and how we’re supposed to move forward,” Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168th, of Media said.

More than a dozen participants seemed to agree when West Chester Area School District Superintendent Dr. Jim Scanlon said, “At the end of the day, it’s about the kids.”

Killion talked about the changes.

“COVID-19 has had an impact on society that was previously unimaginable,” he said. “There is no question that in-person instruction is the ideal.

“Students learn best in a classroom environment.”

On March 16, all Pennsylvania schools were ordered closed for what was supposed to be 10 days. On April 9, schooling across the state was stopped through the end of the school year.

Dr. John Sanville, superintendent of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, said there is no perfect solution and the state’s lack of a plan has created “tension and division.”

Scanlon said parents are split on what to do. He said that the latest WCASD survey showed that of 8,000 parents who completed the survey, 40 percent want a hybrid education, 40 percent want in-person lessons for all students and 20 percent prefer cyber teaching.

“No matter what our board chooses, at least 60 percent of the people won’t be happy,” Scanlon said.

Langerholc said the decisions must be driven by the data. He

and the others on the panel worry not just about the health of students, but also for older staff and those with preexisting conditions, including bus drivers.

Lori Kelly, president of the PA Association of School Nurses and Practitioners, said that every school building with students needs a nurse on duty to manage all illnesses, not just the coronavirus, including diabetes and asthma.

County Health Director Jeanne Casner agreed.

Dr. Edward J. Albert, executive director of the PA Association of Rural and Small Schools, said the state must act on liability issues, since supers might be held liable.

“Most likely, when something goes wrong, they will point the finger at them,” Albert said.

Albert also talked about students who do not have access to broadband internet service at home, with parents having to drive an hour to download virtual lessons at a school.

“Broadband should almost be like a public utility,” he said.

Sanville discussed the $2.5 million added cost for the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District and Scanlon at the WCASD cited specifics.

The WCASD bought a sixmonth supply of masks at what the super said was an “excellent price” of 40 cents per mask, but when the district needed to purchase half a million masks, the price tag was pegged at $200,000.

1:1 devices for 2,700 K-2 students, at $300 per device, exceeded a charge of $800,000. Then there is that added cost of extra cleaning supplies, hydroelectric sprayers and additional teachers to meet social distancing guidelines.

Scanlon also railed at the cost to the district of cybercharter schools. He said the district educates at a fraction of the charter school cost to the district.

Two parents participated: Dr. Beth Ann Rosica, former member of the West Chester Area School District’s parent advisory Board; and Tara B. Turner.

“The virus does not warrant the extreme measures taken,” Rosica said. “These are not children who are dying from this virus … and they are entitled to an appropriate education. “Our kids deserve better.” Turner favors face-toface learning.

“Schools are a second home for some students,” she said.

Blake Krapf, president and CEO of school bus company, Krapf Group, and past-president of the Pennsylvania School Bus Association, said that typically the company starts designing new bus routes in April and May. To date, the company is having a really difficult time since employees do not know what the school day will look like.

“There are not enough buses or drivers and it’s not realistic to buy enough buses for hopefully what will be a short-term problem,” Krapf said. “You could not even get the buses if you had the financial resources.”

Krapf also suggested to the lawmakers that the extensive background check process be expedited through one central data base.