Manatee School Board set to discuss COVID-19, family surveys and upcoming plans

As the first quarter of a pandemic school year comes to an end, the School Board of Manatee is set to plan for the upcoming months.

Board members will convene 11 a.m. on Thursday, one day before the end of Quarter One, to review community feedback and discuss next steps. Meetings are broadcast live on Spectrum Channel 646 and Frontier Channel 39, along with www.mstv.us.

Manatee’s board room at 215 Manatee Ave. W. will also open with a limited capacity of 15 guests, according to the district website.

The district’s Back-to-School Opinion Poll will likely be a driving force behind the board members’ questions and their decisions for the next quarter. The poll garnered more than 12,500 survey responses and 20,000 written submissions before it closed last month, district spokesman Mike Barber said.

The Bradenton Herald submitted a records request for the poll results on Oct 1. In his written statement, Barber said the results would likely be available by Wednesday, “with the possible exception of write-in answers, which we are still going through.”

Families were asked 15 questions about their experiences and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It gave parents the chance to provide feedback on district communication, online learning and their plans for the future.

“Would you choose to send your child to Brick and Mortar (5 days a week on campus) even if this made social distancing more difficult at your school?”

If a large number of students planned to leave their online classes or hybrid schedules, instead learning on campus full time, then Manatee would have to brainstorm new safety measures, said Scott Hopes, who had yet to see the survey results on Tuesday morning.

He also said that rapid COVID-19 testing could become a topic of discussion. The federal government was sending thousands of kits to Florida, and school districts throughout the state needed a plan to safely administer the nasal swabs, Hopes said.

While the meeting could evoke any number of conversations, Hopes said he was ultimately happy with the first quarter of a challenging school year.

“My expectation is that we don’t change much,” he said.

Charlie Kennedy, the board’s vice chair, said that rumors were permeating the community in recent weeks. One of the prevalent rumors was that Manatee schools would get rid of the hybrid option, a mix of in-person and online classes.

Barber addressed the speculation in his statement on Tuesday morning.

“My understanding is that all three modalities of instruction will be discussed,” Barber wrote. “I was informed that a recommendation to remove the Hybrid option is under consideration, based on feedback received and demand for that option. However, no decision in regards to any of the options has been made at this point and all of them will be discussed at the workshop.”

Residents also asked Kennedy whether the board would reverse its district-wide mask policy after the county commission lifted its own mask mandate.

A reversal was unlikely in the near future, Kennedy said, citing the 4-1 vote that established a mask policy in Manatee County schools.

“It was a pretty strong supermajority,” he said. “I just don’t see any evidence that would convince any board member to drop it.”

Hopes, who is also an epidemiologist, offered a similar opinion on Tuesday morning. He said mask-wearing, social distancing, hand-washing and campus cleaning helped to prevent school closures or large COVID-19 outbreaks after the start of classes on Aug. 17.

“There are some parents who think that because the governor has reopened Florida’s economy and bars and restaurants that somehow it’s safe to not wear a mask,” Hopes said. “It’s not time to change anything that’s working.”

While the meeting begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday, the board is scheduled to begin with a conversation on project financing, followed by a private session on risk management and litigation.