What will ‘back to school’ look like in Manatee in 2020-21? Parents will get a big say

The Manatee County School Board will gather for a highly anticipated meeting on June 25, grappling with the monumental task of reopening schools in August.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state education commissioner, Richard Corcoran, announced their expectations on Thursday, calling for a full reopening of schools. The governor went on to say that reopening plans were “locally driven decisions” that would vary by county.

Around the same time, Manatee school board members held a workshop in Bradenton. The board chair, Gina Messenger, asked how to balance public comment and safety during the upcoming meeting.

For much of the COVID-19 pandemic, Manatee’s board room has been closed to the public and meetings have been broadcast on television, while public comments were accepted by email.

In response, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders outlined an idea to offer public comment and maintain social distancing. Board members would be in their meeting chamber on June 25, and residents would have a chance to address the board virtually, from each of the county’s high schools.

Each high school would have a device in its auditorium, and residents could speak to the board members via Microsoft Teams, a platform for video meetings. Sign-up for public comment would be required, as always.

“We could allow more people the opportunity to have public comment, sort of in person,” Saunders said. “It would be different than just an email, and we would be able to spread out the number of people that way.”

While the idea was possible, Saunders said she had yet to speak with high school principals on Thursday. Final plans for the meeting will be announced as June 25 draws closer.

Much to consider

The board will have to contend with a host of opinions and tough decisions at its upcoming meeting. During the recent workshop, board member Charlie Kennedy alluded to one of the more controversial topics.

“It’s going to be tough and it’s going to be met with a lot of resistance, but my suggestion is this board must institute a mask policy if you are on school board property,” he said.

Board members recently approved up to $325,000 in spending for cloth masks. The district planned to supply every student and staff member with two masks, and it was unclear if Manatee would spend the full amount that was approved.

The superintendent has continually said that masks would likely be used in crowded areas, such as hallways and school buses. She reaffirmed that opinion on Thursday.

“Once you’re in a classroom and I can have the spacing requirements or the protective barrier, my expectation is the students are going to be allowed to take the mask off,” Saunders said.

“I will tell you myself, I have a hard time wearing a mask,” she continued. “I couldn’t imagine wearing it all day and being able to speak in that manner.”

Input from the community

Earlier in the week, during its meeting on Tuesday, the school board received an update on the district’s community survey. More than 13,000 people responded to the survey, and of those people, about 11,400 identified as parents or guardians.

The district released three possibilities for the new school year, and approximately 60 percent of people chose Plan A, a full return to campus, Saunders said.

However, she said, various “community groups” were concerned about safety and felt more comfortable with Plan B, a mix between in-person and online learning. Groups of students would rotate between their schools and their digital classrooms each week, allowing for social distancing on campus.

Another 1,800 people said they wanted to continue with full-time online learning. Anyone who wanted to remain online would have the option, regardless of the district’s final plan, Saunders said.

“We’ve not set any parameter or stated how we’re going to look in the fall because we do not know,” she said. “We’re trying to get input from a variety of individuals, all of the stakeholders, so the board as a whole can make a decision based on all the information and facts.”

Manatee’s survey is open through Sunday, at surveys.panoramaed.com/manatee/backtoschool2020.

The survey requires people to identify as a parent or guardian, teacher, district employee, community member or an “other school-based employee.” The superintendent said she wanted to hear from everyone.

“We do have another voice that we have to keep into consideration, and that is our employees as well: our bus drivers, our paras, our teachers,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.

School closures are hard for the parents of elementary students, the superintendent said. While it was important for students to continue their education during the pandemic, it was equally important for parents to keep working, and some struggled with child care.

The superintendent said she was especially interested in getting those children back on campus.

“They do have a lot of support personnel, far more than secondary, with paras and so forth,” she continued. “It may be a little bit easier to accomplish that in elementary. The schools are working very hard to come up with those plans right now.”

Her goal was for board members to hold a discussion on June 25 and for the district to notify parents of its plan shortly after. That plan was a “moving target,” the superintendent said, underscoring the chance of future COVID-19 outbreaks, and the need to be flexible.

The board’s upcoming meeting was scheduled for mid-afternoon, but the time could easily change. Board members and district officials have discussed the need to hold a meeting earlier in the day, or to hold a longer meeting.

Dates and times for all of Manatee’s board meetings can be found on the district website, manateeschools.net. To find each meeting, navigate to the “District” tab, click on “School Board” and go to “Minutes and Agendas.”

During the news conference on Thursday afternoon, Florida’s education commissioner said it was a “strong recommendation” that schools “fully open in the fall.”

The Florida Department of Education also released a 143-page plan, urging schools to open at full capacity in August.

“It provides challenging and comprehensive guidelines for moving our schools through and past the Coronavirus crisis,” Saunders said in a prepared statement. “I like the fact it emphasizes safety first and leaves the ultimate decision on reopening schools to the local districts.”