(Facebook/Monroe County Community School Corporation)
The MCCSC COVID-19 monitoring and advisory committee recommended a return-to-school policy change during Tuesday’s board of trustees meeting.
The advisory committee recommended approving negative rapid antigen tests for asymptomatic, unvaccinated students five to seven days after being identified as a close contact.
Board member April Hennessey opposed the recommendation until the second round of in-school COVID-19 vaccine clinics finish on January 18.
“I just worry in the face of not having had both vaccination clinics yet,” she said. “And holiday travel. People are about to travel, and we don’t know where they’re going, for how long, what they’re bringing back with them.”
April Hennessey is the district 2 representative on the MCCSC Board of Trustees. She was first elected in 2020 and serves through 2024. (Courtesy: MCCSC)
Board member Erin Cooperman is a member of the advisory committee and said the group considered pros and cons for the recommendation. She said the largest risk is the sensitivity of rapid antigen tests, which could potentially allow a student to return to school too early with a false negative result.
“I want to be clear that this was not part of an off-ramping discussion,” she said. “I don’t think there is anyone on our committee who would argue that this is the climate in which should be softening COVID protocols."
Cooperman said the committee recommended the change because rapid antigen tests are sufficient and more accessible than PCR tests. However, the advisory committee did not provide data for its recommendation.
The board debated the new recommendation for about 30 minutes, before voting 4-3 to table the recommendation until its next meeting on January 24.
Board members Martha Street, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, and Elizabeth Ruh voted to consider the recommendation Tuesday. Board members Hennessey, Cooperman, Brandon Shurr, and Jacinda Townsend-Gides voted to postpone.
Currently, fully vaccinated students do not need to quarantine if identified as a close contact. However, unvaccinated students have three options to return to school:
negative PCR test from a pharmacy or doctor’s office on days five, six, or seven after exposure.
10-day quarantine, followed by four days of enhanced precautions in the classroom.
14-day quarantine with no enhanced precautions.
Transportation update
Additionally, assistant director of business operations Adam Terwilliger presented a transportation update to the board.
He said MCCSC families are dealing with late buses and inconsistent notifications because of challenges such as a driver shortage and outdated technology.
The district is looking to solve half its problems by installing new tracking technology in all buses in March 2022. It is also expecting feedback from a route efficiency consultant the same month, with full implementation by August.
“All of this is a modernization of a fleet and processes that will make us a lot better,” superintendent Jeff Hauswald said. “And we are confident that this is something our families are demanding and expecting.”
Superintendent Jeff Hauswald joined MCCSC in July 2021. (Courtesy: MCCSC)
Hauswald said the district is also aiming to improve the driver shortage through a new tentative agreement with AFSCME local 3995.
While most details are unknown, Hauswald said the starting salary for school bus drivers will increase from about $11 per hour to at least $13 per hour. The district’s goal is to reach $15 per hour in the next two or three years.
Union members will vote on the terms of the tentative agreement before it is presented at the next board meeting on January 25.
