ROANOKE COUNTY, VA. – Parents and administrators in Roanoke County are trying to figure out what the upcoming school year will look like but the two sides remain far apart.
Some want a regular school year, while others support the two days in, two days out plan for most students proposed by superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely.
On Thursday night, the school board had originally planned to vote on the plan, but instead opted for a public hearing instead.
From what we saw at the meeting it seems split right down the middle on what to do; however, it’s not just public opinion in this, it seems board politics are playing a role as well.
Parents, students and teachers all spoke before the board and the clock is now ticking to make a decision.
It was a socially-distant packed house as people filled the auditorium at Northside High School, sat in the aisles and spilled out into the hallway to watch. Nearly 50 people signed up to share their opinions on the plan.
About half the speakers supported the modified return to school and asked how school administrators would feel if someone were to die from the virus in the division.
“No one wants a child or school staff member to die on their watch because they disregarded health guidelines. No child wants to experience the death of a classmate or teacher due to this virus,” parent Laura Bowman said.
Other parents and some students felt differently, citing missing time with friends, milestones and in-person education and said returning to school normally was worth the risk.
“Too much time at home for older students, there will not be parental supervision in the homes if parents are working, this is untenable at best, the reality is that many students will not use their time wisely to study,” parent Dawn Costello said.
Last month, state leaders put the power to decide what to do in the hands of local leaders.
Roanoke County Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely, working with staff, came up with a plan to send kindergartners through second graders to school every day, while the remaining students would go to school two days, then receive online instruction on the other days.
Nicely and school board members said that online instruction this time would be more robust and involved than the online instruction that was hastily thrown together during the initial shutdown in the spring.
“We have a plan that re-engages students with school, not in the full capacity that we would certainly like to be as our goal, but it’s a good starting point,” Nicely said.
But it’s not just parents that aren’t in agreement, the school board doesn’t see eye to eye either.
Seemingly out of nowhere on Wednesday, school board chairman Don Butzer stepped down from his role and Mike Wray stepped up to replace him.
The board is not in agreement on what to do, with some members wanting students to be in the classroom more than the proposed amount and others erring more on the side of caution, concerned about the ongoing pandemic.
The board indicated it received feedback from some parents who said they didn’t feel comfortable sending their children to school at all. Others asked about the possibility of an opt-in and opt-out option, but members of the board said that a large number of families would need to opt-out to make the math work.
“We have difference of opinion, but in the end we want to do what’s best for our students, what’s best for our staff, what’s best for the school system,” Wray said.
The divide among the crowd remained polarizing. Some parents said Thursday for a variety of reasons, anything less than a normal return to school will not work for them and they’re willing to take the risk to make sure their children are in the classroom.
School administrators are working on a larger community survey that will be sent out to families in the coming days. The school board hopes to review those results next week, and then made a decision the week following.