Concerns over class sizes and the potential for COVID-19 outbreaks were the hot topics during a debate at the Greater Essex County District School Board Tuesday night.
Trustees were told an outbreak policy is in the works with the help of the Ministry of Education and local health unit and would be released shortly, but ultimately they opted to put off officially accepting the back to school plan until the outbreak policy is finalized.
Through an online survey, parents are being asked to choose in person or remote learning for their children to help the board gauge how many students will be in the classroom come September, but trustee Aimee Omstead says families want to know more before making a decision.
"I have been asked many, many times in the over 300 emails, calls, texts and letters I have received in the last two weeks, what is the plan for when there's an outbreak in a school? What happens if a child is positive? How are parents notified? It only takes one child to create a domino effect."
Omstead says it's not fair to ask parents to make that choice now.
"It is unfathomable for parents to make these decisions until they see these protocols. It's really unfair and there are a lot of parents that are refusing to make that choice until they know how an outbreak will be taken care of."
Trustee Alicia Higgison says, at this point, it's impossible to move forward.
"I have to admit I was hoping for more details and without more clarification on some of the components of this plan parents are unable to make a decision and they're worried. Parents have been practicing social distancing with their kids since this began and now are being told that there is a different outcome."
Trustees with the Greater Essex County District School Board meet remotely on August 11, 2020 (Photo courtesy of the Greater Essex County District School Board)
Emails are being sent to families with a link to the online survey while the complete back to school plan can be found on the board's website.
The board says parents will have the option to change their decision regarding in person and remote learning in October and February.
At the meeting, trustees also passed a motion calling on the province for more funding to lower class sizes from 30 students in elementary schools.
The back to school plan calls for elementary students to attend school five days a week while high school students will go every other day and masks will be mandatory for Grades 4 through 12.
Arrival and departure times will be staggered to avoid large crowds and students will stay with the same group for the entire day including recess and lunch.
The board has installed almost 1,500 hand washing stations in classrooms and students will have designated hand washing times while 60 extra custodians have been hired to handle additional cleaning.
All sports, assemblies and field trips have been cancelled for the time being and items with porous surfaces such as area rugs and couches are being removed from schools as well.