Haxtun BOE hears from concerned parents before pushing back school start date

With the start of the school year quickly approaching, parents and staff members have eagerly awaited news on Haxtun Schools’ plan for beginning the 2020-21 school year while in the middle of a global pandemic.

That news came at a board of education meeting held in the school cafeteria last week. The meeting, attended by many concerned parents, contained a wealth of information about how administration planned to start school in just a few short weeks; however, much of the information provided was not well perceived by those in attendance.

With folding chairs strategically placed around the room, parents and staff members spread out to follow social distancing guidelines upon entering the cafeteria. Many arrived early and sat patiently waiting for the meeting to begin, the majority not wearing masks. Once the clock struck 7 p.m., School Board President Richard Starkebaum asked those in attendance to put on a mask or face covering in order to comply with Colorado Governor Jared Polis’s mandate handed down several weeks ago.

Starkebaum’s request was met with resistance from a number of parents at the meeting. Some reluctantly put on their masks while others still declined to so do. Following several directives to put on some sort of face covering, Starkebaum said he would not begin the meeting until everyone complied. At that time, close to 10 parents walked out of the meeting and remained in the hallway, refusing to meet Starkebaum’s demands to wear a mask.

Starkebaum eventually called the meeting to order and proceeded with roll call and the pledge of allegiance. Shortly after, he was asked by a parent to lower his mask while speaking to allow a hearing-impaired parent to better understand him when he spoke. He, and others, complied when speaking throughout the meeting, lowering and putting their masks back in place many times during the almost three-and-a-half-hour long meeting.

Superintendent Darcy Garretson provided board members as well as parents with copies of the District’s proposed plan for beginning school in August, which was slated for the 17th. She also included information comparing what Haxtun planned versus other districts in the immediate area.

“Haxtun School District understands and respects the need for our schools to reopen this fall for students to obtain a quality education and social emotional health that they desire and deserve,” the plan states in the opening. “However, the school district has been and will continue to work to ensure that we can reopen with in-person learning in a way that is safe for students, staff and the Haxtun community.”

Garretson read through details of the school plan, giving parents and others in attendance an outline of what school will would like upon returning this fall.

Garretson said all students ages 11 and over would be required to wear a mask while at school, per the State mandate handed down by Governor Polis. Younger students, she said, would be required to wear masks on the bus and upon entering school until they are in their classroom and daily screenings are verified and complete. Students, she added, may not arrive to school before 8 a.m.

All students would require screening at the beginning of each day. The screening process, Garretson said, may be conducted by parents through a QR code app and those who are not screened at home would be checked and documented once at school. Students may not have a temperature of 100.3 or higher to attend school that day.

Additionally, certified and classified staff, including bus drivers, must conduct self-checks before entering the building or a bus each day. The plan states that all teachers, staff members and bus drivers would be required to wear a mask or face shield throughout the entire day.

Students in grades kindergarten through 12th would be served breakfast in their classrooms once they are at school, screened and settled in their respective rooms. Students would eat lunch in the cafeteria at staggered times and in limited groups. There would be no microwaves for students in grades kindergarten through 4th during lunchtime.

As for playgrounds and physical education time, no more than 60 students would be allowed on the playground at the same time and all recesses would be broken down into smaller groups. PE would be held outside as much as possible. When not, no more than 50 students would be allowed in the gym at one time.

Other stipulations also outlined in the plan include allowing no more than 30 students in a classroom at a time. To the degree practicable, all student desks and tables would be arranged to allow for maximum student-to-student distancing, which according to Garretson, is a recommended three feet.

The plan states that all areas will be clearly marked with reminders to distance along with other general safety guidelines. Water stations will be available for bottle refills; however, water fountains would be blocked. “Students in close proximity or close physical contact will be asked to separate,” the plan says.

A hot topic to some parents included transportation. The document provided by Garretson said that all in-town transportation would be suspended and only 30 students will be allowed on a bus at one time. Only students with an IEP or those enrolled at one of the three childcare facilities in town would be transported within city limits.

Garretson also noted that Haxtun Schools plans to provide parents and students with a remote learning tool for those who do not wish to return to in-person learning this fall. Students will have the first two weeks to make an official decision on in-person or remote learning for the semester. Haxtun Schools will utilize Edmentum or Colorado Digital Learning for those who choose remote learning this fall.

After presenting the information from the plan to return to in-person learning, Garretson acknowledged that some or all practices may not be well received by parents and community members, but noted that the District receives two-thirds of its funding from the State. “I hate to do it,” Garretson said. “As much as I don’t want to, I don’t feel like we have much of a choice,” she added.

Many parents wondered how school officials would regulate and police mask wearing by students on a daily basis. Garretson said the issue would be handled under the District’s dress code policy and students would have the same three strike rule as those who wear something inappropriate to school. The first time, she said, students would be provided a mask and asked to wear it without any consequences.

One parent asked questions about the lunchroom process and how long it would take to run each class through the lunch line and allow students time to eat. Garretson and Elementary Principal Becky Heinz said two grades will be allowed in the cafeteria at a time, however, the salad bar will no longer be available for students.

Heinz also said she did not think the new screening process, the arrival time at school and the lunch process would interfere with the amount of time students spend in the classroom.

High school students would still be allowed off-campus privileges and would not be required to be re-screened upon returning to school from their lunch break.

Starkebaum allowed for 30 to 45 minutes of questions from parents and at the end, cut off comments from the public and allowed the Board more discussion time. He also asked for a motion to pass the plan and proceed with school as scheduled.

His request to approve the plan never came. Board Member Abby Henry openly expressed her disapproval of the plan as written and said she would like more time to work through several details within the document before passing. Later, several board members asked for additional time as the return to school date of Aug. 17 comes the day after Polis’s mask mandate is set to expire. At this time, the Governor has not said if he plans to let the mandate do so or if he expects to extend it.

Phillips County Commissioners and other commissioners in Northeast Colorado have submitted a request to the State to regain local control when it comes to fighting COVID-19. That decision has not yet been made, but many expect it to come the same time the mask mandate is set to expire.

Board members Henry, Audree Edwards and Amy Kilgour all expressed their interest in pushing the start date for in-person learning back one week. School was expected to begin with student assessments on Aug. 17 and 18 and regular classroom learning on Aug. 19.

Garretson didn’t argue with the recommendation and said it could be done, but said it had not been brought up in plan discussions. She said, when asked, that postponing the start of school would not affect extra days in the event of a snow day.

After much discussion, it was moved, seconded and approved to add an action item on the agenda to move the start of school back one week. The return to school plan was tabled until further discussion.

Later in the meeting, board members voted, unanimously, to begin school on Aug. 24 with student assessments the 24th and 25th. School will officially resume on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Moving the start of school back one week will hopefully give board members more time to figure out what Polis plans to do with his mask mandate and to see if Phillips County will regain local control. If the mask mandate expires, much of the return to school plan presented by Garretson would be unnecessary and would give the Board authority to recommended mask wearing for students and staff, but not require it.

At the very end of the meeting, after all business was tended to and the Board had a chance to discuss other events pertaining to the return of school, Starkebaum removed his mask and expressed his disapproval of the meeting’s outcome, saying what the Board did was reprehensible. Starkebaum told board members he did not agree with the way things played out at the meeting.

“I don’t disagree with what we did, I disagree with how we did it,” he said.

The Haxtun Board of Education plans to hold a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria. The agenda says the Board plans to enter into a closed-door, executive session for the purpose of conferring with the attorney for the Board to receive advice on specific legal questions, including compliance with governmental and health agency laws, regulations and orders regarding safe schools and return to in-person instruction pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b).

In other business the Board:

• Heard a CTE presentation from teachers Janet Brophy, Holly Kelly and Jeff Plumb. Haxtun’s program was awarded a $80,000 grant to be used in the FBLA, FCCLA and FFA programs;

• Hired High School Language Arts Teacher Jes-C French who will also produce the yearbook;

• Hired classified staff including: Emily Bazan, Jeanna Clark, Sharon Crist, Callie Dickerson, Denean Fuesz, Melyssa Ham, Nicole Kleve, Emma McKay, Brandy Nichols, Dave Shafer, Paige Thompson, Darwin Jeffers and Ron Shipman;

• Hired the following coaches: high school football, JD Stone and Marc Bornhoft; high school volleyball, Paige Thompson and Don Schelling; high school girls’ basketball, Alren Scholl and Alicia Schram; high school baseball, Trent Ham and Ryan Nolan; high school track, Jared Anderson and Paige Thompson; junior high football, Marc Bornhoft and Andy Wernsman; junior high volleyball, Katlin Bishop and Michele Bivins; junior high girls’ basketball, Michele Bivins and Rich Gerk; junior high boys’ basketball, Rich Gerk and Joey Gerk; junior high track, Dena Gerk and Dave Shafer.