School district plans to return to in-person learning next week, contingent on staffing, Granger says

Blaine school district superintendent Christopher Granger said in a January 24 school board meeting that the district plans to return to in-person learning Monday, January 31, after all schools temporarily moved to remote learning this week. The district will reevaluate its Covid-19 case totals and staffing capabilities at the end of the week to determine whether it can return in-person on Monday, according to Ganger’s January 21 community message. 

In his community message, Granger said over 450 students were absent each day last week, or more than 20 percent of each school’s student body. He also said staff absences had increased to more than 75 per day and 30 percent of those jobs were left unfilled by substitutes. 

While not all those absences are positive Covid-19 cases, as students and staff are asked to stay home if they have any signs of illness, cases are surging across the district.

According to the school district’s Covid-19 dashboard, on it’s website, the district had a total of 118 reported Covid-19 cases from January 10 to January 16. The week before it had 64 cases. The district had yet to record last week’s case totals by press time, but communications director Lisa Moeller said those totals are expected to increase as more test results are reported.

In the school board meeting, Granger said the district’s nursing and administrative staff were testing an average of 150-200 people per day last week between the district’s PCR and rapid testing. “We were just at a breaking point,” he said about the efforts to keep students and staff in the building.

Granger said the decision to go remote for this four-day week was difficult to make but necessary due to the shortage of staff available. 

“We are hoping that this small break will afford us an opportunity to get more staff healthy to work in the building,” he said. “It is impacting every department, from food service to transportation to teaching to secretarial and administrators. It was a very difficult decision.”

Testing is available this week on the north side of the middle school gym, across from H Street from the Boys and Girls Club, 10:30-11 a.m.

With staffing shortages in all schools and buildings, the district is looking for substitutes in all positions. Granger encourages anyone with an interest in education or who would like to lend a helping hand to reach out to the district’s human resources department.

Before the district made the call to move remote last week, some classes had already returned to remote learning.

Grades 6-8 were prepared to move to remote learning January 21 along with six Blaine Primary School and eight Blaine Elementary School classrooms. Several more classrooms and grade levels were being monitored for a potential move to remote learning as well, Granger wrote, and that every family should prepare for a temporary move to remote learning.

The next day Granger announced the entire district would be moving remote temporarily.

“While the Omicron variant is not causing as many instances of serious illness, and that many people are recovering quickly, I am also aware that not all of our families are having that experience,” Granger said in his January 20 message. “Above all things, we want our students, staff and their families to be healthy and happy. We are wishing all those who are ill a very speedy recovery.”