Schools left to prepare for fall without state guidelines

WEBUTUCK — With the start of the 2021-22 school year only weeks away, Harlem Valley school districts are preparing to welcome students and staff back into their school buildings. But there’s been precious little guidance from the state offered thus far as to the best way to do so.

With Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Aug. 10 resignation due to sexual harassment allegations in the face of a possible impeachment, the lack of clear guidance from New York State regarding the coming school year has proven challenging as school districts try to put together their plans for the upcoming academic year. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will take over on Aug. 25, and while she’s advocated for masking up in all schools, she hasn’t said much else as far as how school districts should handle student safety moving forward, as COVID cases are worsening in Dutchess County.

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) hasn’t made things any easier, as it announced this month it would not issue any COVID-19 guidance before the start of the school year. Its reason? The end of the state’s COVID disaster emergency.

On Aug. 5, New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker stated that, with the end of the state disaster emergency on June 25, “school districts are reestablished as the controlling entity for schools.”

Zucker added schools and school districts should develop plans to open in-person in the fall as safely as possible. He recommended following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health departments.

Some guidance issued

On Aug. 12, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) issued a health and safety guide to aid school districts for 2021-22, available at www.nysed.gov.

The 21-page NYSED recommendation offers information and resources based on CDC guidelines for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools and COVID-19 guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). It was designed “to be used in conjunction with the myriad of other local, state and national resources available to schools.”

NYSED recommends monitoring community transmission of COVID-19; universal indoor masking for all, regardless of community transmission levels or vaccination status; and maintaining a social distance of at least 3 feet in the classroom combined with wearing masks indoors.

It should be noted that as of Aug. 9, CDC ranked Dutchess County among the 18 counties in the state with “high” transmission rates (i.e. counties that recorded between 50 and 99.99 new cases per 100,000 people in a week’s time), according to The Daily Voice. The NYSDOH reported three people in Dutchess County died this week from COVID-19, bringing new positive cases in the county to 93 and total positive cases to 30,806.

The NYSED stated as long as local public health officials agree, schools may open for in-person instruction, adding remote instruction should only be for when school is closed during public health emergencies.

Local districts plan

School districts in the region have been assembling plans based on available guidance.

On Friday, Aug. 6, Webutuck Superintendent of Schools Raymond Castellani posted a letter online announcing plans for a five-day in-person schedule for students in grades K through 12. It can be viewed at www.webutuckschools.org.

Though he hopes to stick to that plan, Castellani acknowledged last week it’s “very subject to change in the next few weeks,” depending on any guidance he receives, any surges in COVID-19 cases or the highly-transmissible delta variant, community input and the Board of Education’s (BOE) final input.

“I would love to have nothing more than to have a normal opening of schools,” Castellani said, “but the way the pandemic is exploding again, we have to take the safety of all into account.”

Asked if he felt abandoned by the DOH not issuing any guidance, Castellani said, “Abandoned is a strong word. I would say that we feel that we’ve been hung out to dry to make these decisions locally and be responsible to our students and our staff… We would love a little bit more support and guidance from above.”

The Millerton News contacted other local superintendents to ask about their plans for fall.

Pine Plains Superintendent of Schools Martin Handler said he’ll present his plan to the BOE on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. It essentially mirrors the CDC, AAP and NYSED guidance.

The Millbrook Central School District also has a plan in the works, which it will present to its BOE on Wednesday, Aug. 18.