As virus cases and quarantines climb in Wilson County Schools, leaders came together on Tuesday evening to re-evaluate the district’s health protocols.
But instead, they wound up spending a lot of time discussing what they can’t do.
The special meeting put on display how strapped Tennessee school districts are to control the virus. The fast-spreading Delta variant, combined with the lack of a hybrid option or mask mandate, has left school leaders with only a few tools to combat the spread of the virus.
“We didn’t see numbers like this last summer when we went back to school because we didn’t have a surge that coincided with the start of school, and we went back to school with kids only going half time, so we were able to social distance those kids,” Wilson County school board member Carrie Pfeiffer says. “And they were wearing masks.”
Back in July, when the board voted for masks to be optional, Wilson County’s seven-day average of positive cases was 5.9%. As of Monday, the positivity rate had risen to 18.3% — a level last seen in January.
Since the start of classes, over 560 students have tested positive and thousands more have had to quarantine. It’s become a staffing issue too, with teachers out sick, quarantining or taking care of their child who’s had to quarantine. On Tuesday, 187 teachers were absent, which was nearly double the average absentee rate, and 38 bus routes were down, according to director of schools Jeff Luttrell.
“I’ve been in this business for 27 years and I’ve never seen the stress level, the tension level of educators, of administrators, and nurses and bus drivers,” he says. “We’re stretched thin.”
Lack of direction
The approach to COVID is complicated this year because the state isn’t allowing districts to offer a hybrid option or require masks.
Back in the spring, the State Board of Education ruled that students will not be allowed a remote learning option at their regular school. Luttrell says he’s recently considered expanding the district’s virtual school but the state won’t allow it.
Earlier this month, the governor recently issued an executive order that would allow families to bypass a school’s mask requirement.
Pfeiffer says a mandate is still worth a shot because it would sway families who are mainly following the status quo. But other members were more skeptical of the difference that a mandate could make with the opt-out option.
School board chairman Larry Tomlinson says he wishes for better guidance on what to do under these circumstances.
“The thing that I wish is that some people that are in higher places than we are could give us some direction as to what, not what they recommend we do, but this is what we expect you to do,” Tomlinson says. “We’re not getting that direction.”
‘Requesting’ face coverings
On Tuesday, the board did vote to make some slight changes. The district will now “strongly recommend” students to quarantine if they come in close contact with an infected person, regardless of symptoms.
Schools will also start “requesting” face coverings if a school’s weekly attendance rates falls below 85%. But masks still are not required.
And weekly symptom checks will only be mandatory for grades 6 through 12 — not all grades — because officials found the health screenings weren’t as effective with younger children. The district relies on a questionnaire recommended by the Tennessee Department of Health.
On Tuesday, Luttrell pleaded with his school community to have a sense of urgency to control the the virus.
“I’m telling you there will be a day, regardless of what we’re doing if I can’t staff our schools, I have to shut schools down,” Luttrell says.
The warning comes as districts across the country, including Lebanon Special School District, have been forced to close due to COVID-related concerns.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM