Right.
I'd like to call the July 26, 2021
meeting of the Derry Township School District Board of Directors to order
and announce that this meeting is being livestreamed and audio recorded.
This meeting is being conducted both in-person and virtually.
Board Members.
Please be sure to state your name when speaking.
Mrs. Agee. Roll call, please.
Mr. Abel.
Here. Dr. KERNAN. Here.
Ms.. Drew. Here.
This is our first Mrs.
Manny here.
Mr. Rizzo. Here.
Dr. Shore. Here.
This is Secor here. Mr. Singer. Here.
Eight present.
One absent.
Thank you.
Please rise if you are able and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance
by automation
and the rest of the
staff.
Now, please have a motion to approve
the July 26, 2021 Board of Directors agenda.
So moved.
Second, Donna Cronin,
is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I, i any opposed?
Was Mr.
Rizzo able to come off?
Yes, I said I.
Okay. Thank you, sir.
All right, President Communications.
I would like to announce that the board met in executive session
prior to this meeting to discuss consultation with attorney
and other professional advisors and information and legal matters
will be moving into the recognition of citizens.
Next.
And so I just wanted to comment for everyone
who is planning to speak this evening that the health and safety plan
is on the agenda for approval this evening.
So that is an agenda item and public comments about it
are welcome prior to that.
But one thing we just did want to preface is that the health and safety
plan is on the agenda this evening because we have to meet a requirement
of approval by July 30th
per the
state's requirements to to submit that plan.
The pandemic team has been meeting regularly and has a meeting scheduled
for August 9th, at which time a number of things will be discussed.
Those meeting minutes are published very quickly
after the meeting on the district website for everyone to see.
And so I would just encourage folks to keep in mind that this is a fluid
moving document and something that is subject to change.
All board members will have the opportunity to ask questions
and weigh in with any comments when we get to that item this evening.
But we did want the public to be aware
that this plan could very well change at one of the next meetings
and ask you to please keep that in mind.
So we'll
move on to recognition of citizens for agenda items.
This is an opportunity for residents and taxpayers
to address the board on matters related to items on tonight's agenda.
If you wish to address the board on matters not on tonight's agenda,
the opportunity to do so will be provided during the second public comment period.
Those who speak, if present, are asked to come to the microphone
and state your name and address for the record.
Those who are attending virtually are asked to raise your virtual hand.
In order to be recognized, you must have your first
and last name typed into the livestream registration.
Once recognized and unmuted, please state your name and address for the record
to provide other residents with an opportunity to speak.
Each speaker during the public comment portion is limited to 5 minutes
of speaking.
Time once recognized and is limited to one opportunity
to address the board during each of the public comment periods.
I will ask Board Treasurer, Mr.
Seger, to please keep time.
If necessary,
the board may set a maximum time for public comment portion of any meeting.
This portion of the board
meeting is for comments to the board and is not a question and answer period.
And those wishing to present private concerns or questions needing
follow up outside of the board
meeting may go to the district website and submit a community correspondence.
We would also ask taxpayers and residents
to be mindful of the comments made before their opportunity to speak.
And if something has already been addressed that
you share your concurrence or disagreement.
But for the purpose of time to allow that to to continue on.
So at this time, are there any residents or taxpayers who would like to comment?
We'll start with those who are here in person, in the audience,
and then we'll move to virtual.
Mr. Ron,
good evening.
John Miller 329 Cocoa Avenue.
I did have a chance to take a look at it at the
the plan, the health and safety plan.
I guess in my mind when I was reading through it,
I kind of went back in, in my mind in time to the attestation form when we were
trying to, you know, stay in accordance
with what was understood under that agreement.
And this is kind of that on steroids, I'm afraid that's that would be my concern
is that we as we're moving forward in the year
when we get into these impossible
statistical scenarios,
that really there's no way out because the numbers,
the metrics, the way they look at things,
PCR now, that's up for debate.
Whether or not they're going to use that, I think I saw CDC is
not going to allow that anymore.
I don't know, Dr.
Schaff, you read onto that, but
I guess
as a community, we're
we're ready to get back to it.
I think we can
forgo the masks and the masks.
That would be my standpoint as a father,
just knowing what what the mask does to a child,
even if it is just on the bus or if it's just encouraged,
you know, you might start getting to a scenario
where certain children are looked at
as if they're not clean or, you know,
the vaccinated and the unvaccinated masked and unmasked.
That's what I think would be
a detriment to us as a community.
I understand
that we didn't raise taxes to meet the balanced budget,
but I see taking this money
as an indirect tax, to be honest with you.
It's devaluation of our currency.
It's, I think, would say something as I mean, I know it's a little too late
for that, but the fact that we're going to have another set of strings
attached to who controls what goes on here outside of the taxpayer
and the parents is concerning to me.
The federal reach onto our school district is is not a good thing.
I mean, you look at the
the suppression of free speech that's going on right now.
And if we're just talking about science, that's really all we want to talk about is
what are we looking at here?
How effective is masking?
And the the debate is not over on that.
It's it's viable conversation that needs to be had.
And they're not willing to have that conversation as per the
communications secretary.
So that would be my concern that we are going to be controlled.
We're going to use that as an excuse like we did.
The attestation.
And my ultimate fear really is that
it continually growing number of parents are losing faith in the school district.
And I don't want to see that as somebody who's K-through-12, Derry Township.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in person who would like to speak at this time?
Mr. TYGART We could move to the virtual hands that are raised now.
Please.
Madam President, we have two hands raised.
We'll start with Timothy Goldin.
Thank you. Mr. Goldin.
You are being unmuted.
And if you could please state
your name and address for the record before beginning.
Thank you.
My name is Timothy Goldman, and I live at 28 Jacob's Creek Drive, Hershey, P.A..
My daughter is entering first grade in the fall.
I tried 21st at the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommended
that all unvaccinated students wear masks at school on July nine.
The CDC's guidance for COVID 19 prevention in K-through-12 schools said, quote,
Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals age
two and older who are not fully vaccinated.
As of July 23rd, the Department of Health
shows only 36.8% of county children
aged 15 to 19 are fully vaccinated from COVID 19.
0% of DTC children age
5 to 11 are vaccinated from COVID 19
by simply recommending masks instead of requiring masks.
The Vxi Health and Safety Plan does not embrace these recommendations
from medical experts.
It places our children in a higher risk of catching and spreading COVID 19,
especially the highly contagious Delta variant.
Please reconsider the masking portion of the health and safety plan.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr.
Golden.
Madam President, we have Sara Ryan.
Thank you.
Ms.. Ryan.
You're being a muted
if you could please state your name and address for the record and then begin.
Hi, my name is Sarah Ryan.
I live at 50 Cedar Avenue in Hershey.
My daughter will be entering ninth grade, Hershey High this fall.
I want to say greatly appreciate all the hard work
that you and the board have done
for our children in the district.
And I know this past year and a half has been like nothing we've expected.
So thank you for doing your best to balance all the needs of the district.
I do have a few comments on the health and safety plan just in general with masking
the language that you guys use in the proposed plan.
Talks about requirements by law and masks were never
a lot were never written into law, public health guidance or mandates.
So to me it makes more sense that the language would reflect
that in our plan.
And I'm glad to see that the board's trying to address indoor air
quality issues to reduce microbial microbial load, something that would help
reduce all airborne pathogens, not just go ahead anyway,
I think we'd be grateful for that long after we're done with this pandemic.
So I think it's an important thing to look at indoor air quality.
I am concerned, however, about potentially using novel, untested technology
in order to reduce these pathogens, as was initially suggested in the plan.
I did notice that it has been updated.
However, I just wanted to make my comments.
My primary concern surrounding the use of dry
hydrogen peroxide or any new air purification system is that the technology
is so new that its safety and efficacy are still being investigated.
Well, the data on dry to use efficacy is compelling.
Despite unanswered questions about microbial resistance,
the doubt that safety is not compelling.
I have not done
an exhaustive literature search for the studies that I have seen so far.
We're all done in health care facilities, mostly between patient turnover
and with adults, where patients will have much less potential contact time
with any residual hydrogen peroxide than our children might,
given that they attend 180 days out of every year.
And the one study that I saw that
did involve children, the average exposure time was only about four days.
So these studies just can't be safely extrapolated to apply to the school
setting since their study design is not reflective of how such units
would be used in schools.
And since the properties that make dry, it's sure to be effective
at reducing microbial loads are properties
that are potentially damaging to soft tissues and our lungs.
We need to see robust studies that show the long term safety data for children.
Any nugget of novel technology that we consider for air purification
should include such long term data systems that are still extant.
Experimental, no matter how promising they seem,
are just not suitable to be used in the classroom
at dry age, your technology looks promising in terms of efficacy,
like I said, but we do need
that long term safety data for any air verification system.
Maybe consider and please look at that long term data.
It really is.
There's a lot of information out there to sort through it, including things
like avoiding HEPA filtration systems that generate ozone.
But please do consider any unintentional side effects from the air
purification process and how it may impact our children
when choosing a system or systems.
Thank you.
Madam President, we have Michelle DAVIES next.
Thank you, Ms.. DAVIES, for not being unmuted.
Please state your name and address for the record before beginning.
Can you hear me?
Yes, Thank you. Okay.
Michelle DAVIES, 1524 Church Road, Hershey, EPA.
I just wanted to thank you guys for all the hard work
that you have put in to this.
I already said it on the
feedback form.
I just want to say it again, and I know you have a lot to ask.
I want to thank you
for listening to our local doctors, not just the federal government.
I know the in the minutes on the pandemic
teams that that Linda, you asked the doctors
locally what their thoughts were and that they felt
that these guys were making the right decisions
for us to be optional.
Thank you for giving the power back to the parents
to make medical decisions for our children.
There are many in the community that feel that way
and appreciate it and that same message only completely.
Those who want awareness let them win.
But I appreciate what you guys have done
and I concur with and I forget the lady's name,
but the lady who spoke before me about the dry hydrogen peroxide
air purifiers that
there needs to be more studies before we implement them in school,
because it can be really dangerous if the concentration is too high.
And we need safety measures for those as well.
So thank you so much and I hope we can keep Max functional.
Thank you.
Madam President,
I see no other hands raised at this time.
So, you know, we have one other hand raised,
Cally House from
I Kelly
house and 44 days drive in coming to town.
I just wanted to add that the American Academy of Pediatrics
has recently recommended masking for our students,
especially, in my opinion, for youngest students
that do not have an option for a vaccine,
for the protection of them and their families.
And I realize that people are looking for choice.
Yes, my kid can wear a mask, but
ultimately he's better protected by others wearing masks.
So for kids like him to be in home
because of looking for safety
and protection at school versus a student
being required to wear a mask that they prefer not to.
I see
different negative outcomes that seem a little bit unbalanced there.
So I would like to kind of have
those different perspectives taken into account
when we're talking about this.
There are studies about transmission
being percentages lower where masks are worn.
So I think those studies exist
and there is some information out there showing that these can be a benefit.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Sir, anyone else who would like
to participate in public comment at this time, either in-person or on Zoom?
Okay.
CNN will close public comment for now
and move on to the committee correspondents report.
Miss Karpel, do you have a community correspondent's report, please?
Thank you.
For the month of June, the district received
38 community correspondence submissions.
The vast majority of those were related to COVID 19 mitigation.
Some others included
five questions about accessing report cards, a question about homeschooling.
A question about the first day at kindergarten.
A request to make a donation.
A question regarding attending a board meeting.
Two questions regarding curriculum.
A question about bussing.
Five Regarding the American Rescue Plan and our Pandemic Response team.
A concern about athletics.
And another question regarding attendance matter.
Thank you very much.
The items listed are on the anticipated
August 9th, 2021 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.
There is no unfinished
business this evening and so we will move on to consent agenda.
The consent agenda contains routinely adopted items and items
that normally do not require public deliberations on the part of the board.
A board member may pull items which will then be discussed and voted on separately.
May I please have a motion to approve the consent agenda items as listed?
So move to Marie Amie Second, Donna Cronan.
Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say I only any opposed.
The consent agenda is approved.
Moving on to new business.
First item is approval of the Caq Agreement for district classroom space.
Dr. Winslow.
The administration recommends the approval of the SIU Operation
and Maintenance Agreement for district classrooms space
to be used for a preschool program for a period of one year.
July 1st, 2021 to June 30th, 2022.
Retroactively.
Thank you.
May I please have a motion to approve the CAA new agreement?
So moved. Maria me
second.
Donna Cronan, Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor, please say I are any opposed.
Health
and safety plan, Guidance and template.
Dr. Winslow.
The administration recommends the approval of the AARP
DCR Health and Safety plan, Guidance and template.
Thank you.
May I please have a motion to approve the IRP? Yes.
Our Health and Safety Plan, Guidance and template moved Kathy sicker.
Second, Miriam Amie, as we move into discussion, I will ask Dr.
Winslow to please provide an overview of the health and safety plan
before we go into discussion by the board.
Absolutely. Thank you. Mr..
I did want to reiterate that the pandemic team has met three times
so far to review the requirements of the health and safety plan,
as well as guidance from the CDC, the Department of Health and the PD.
Our next scheduled meeting is August 9th, and I do want to emphasize
that this is a dynamic plan subject
to change at any time based on changing conditions and guidance.
It is not the same as some of the pieces that we had last year
that made us feel like we were locked in to different elements.
I did want to say that I know
the last 18 months have been unprecedented in our lifetime,
and I know and respect that everyone has their child's
best interests at the forefront of their thinking.
I also know that in order to provide the best education possible,
we need students to be in-person with us at school.
We are certain that being in school is best for our children.
We are certain we are going to do everything we can
to keep the children safe.
I'm not going to go through the health and safety plan point by point
as it is available and has been sent out for everyone to review and ask questions
and provide feedback.
But I did want to highlight
some areas that generated a lot of questions and concerns.
The first area was a letter, a universal and correct
wearing of masks, as you can hear just from our public comment this evening.
There are many strong feelings and opinions
regarding the wearing of masks, particularly after the American Academy
of Pediatrics shared recommendations last Monday
regarding universal wearing.
Our feedback indicated that 57 families
prefer to have masks mandated, especially at the elementary level.
For students under 12 and 17.
Families prefer masks to be optional, especially at the middle school,
in the high school.
Additional community correspondence and direct email communication indicates
that another 15 families prefer no masks, especially at the middle school
and high school.
And another seven families prefer
masks be required, especially at the elementary school.
I did account for some overlap in similar comments and same families.
There.
At this time we are submitting our plan with the original language of mask
being recommended
for all elementary students and all unvaccinated staff and students.
That could of course, change.
Our main priority is making sure that students are able to be at school.
And if masks are the thing that ultimately makes that happen,
then that's what we will do because that's the priority.
However, at this point in time, we feel comfortable moving forward this way.
There were several questions about school busses.
It is a federal mandate from the CDC that masks be worn on school busses.
It is not something that we get to make a local decision about.
I know that not everyone agrees with that.
However, that is something that we do not feel comfortable
taking a different stance on.
Letter D with a D,
which was including improving ventilation and air quality.
There was a lot of
concern over the proposed purchase of dry hydrogen peroxide units.
We have done a lot of discussion with the pandemic team
as well as a lot of research.
This proposed purchase has been removed from the plan.
However, as a district, we will continue to investigate various methods
of layered mitigation for air quality.
There have been several community members as well as several
pandemic team members who have been very knowledgeable about our air quality
as well as we have been doing a lot of deep investigating as a team here.
So we're going to continue to look at that
and we have put other pieces already in place
and will continue to do those things, of course, as we have throughout the year.
Letter
E with contact tracing is another area of great concern
as we all want students to be in school and to have uninterrupted instruction
if they have to be out of school for COVID related reasons.
We will follow CDC recommendations
regarding close contact through proximity and duration of exposure.
I will not read that whole entire thing to you.
I know this community.
People know where things are and know to look at them.
There is an important exception with that.
And the K-12 indoor classroom.
Currently, the close contact definition excludes
students who are within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student
where both students were engaged in consistent and correct
use of well-fitting masks and other K-12 prevention strategies such as
mask wearing, physical distancing and increased ventilation were in place
in the school setting.
The exception does not apply to teacher staff or other adults in
the indoor classroom setting.
Also, someone who has
had recent exposure may not need to quarantine
if they've been fully vaccinated or if they were previously diagnosed
with COVID 19 within the last three months and are showing no symptoms.
Those were the primary areas of concern
and feedback that we've been hearing.
There were some questions about instruction.
The health and safety plan does not encompass instruction.
That's emergency instructional plan, which I believe is going to be voted on next.
The state is requiring evidence of full return to school,
including the full number of hours required by school code.
At this point in time, we would see no reason to shut down schools.
That has not something we've been told we will have to do
and we hope to not do that.
We are not offering hybrid instruction this year.
However, we do have the skills and the technology in place
to ensure that a student who is absent from school for COVID related reasons
will be able to join their class via Zoom
so as to ensure consistency of instruction.
Any student who is quarantined either for illness or close contact
will be approved to join their class remotely
as long as they are feeling well enough to do so.
So that is that is my overview.
I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Thank you, Tony.
Board members have any questions for Dr.
Winslow?
I just have a question.
Donna Cronin.
What is the timeline on?
And maybe this is already been done.
My my most outstanding concern, I'm not rating it in value,
but the one that's remaining is regarding the close contact.
I understand the duration and exposure period.
I'm more concerned with the process.
When will that when will we have a better idea on
what the exact process is on contact tracing?
I would say probably after August 9th
when our physician on record has an opportunity
to meet with our school teams and the student Services department.
So they'll be working on that together to ensure consistency
and to make sure that the guidance is as up to date as possible.
Thank you.
Sentiments have questions or any comments?
Dr. Winslow, this is Kathy Zika.
So just to confirm, last year at this time,
we put a lot of items in storage because we maintain distancing at lunches.
Like, for example, in the middle school,
the desks were six feet apart and you sat individually a desk.
Everything's being brought out of storage and we're returning back to
what would have looked like prior to last year with tables
in the high school cafeteria of the elementary.
So even the students may be sitting
two feet from somebody at lunch in all buildings at this point.
That is correct. Okay. That is correct.
And we will spread out as much as possible.
But in order to have everybody back in place, which is what we want,
we can't guarantee a full three feet of distancing when they're unmasked at lunch.
Okay.
And so right now, we're a proven help, a safety plan that masks are optional.
But if let's say a district like ours would say masks were mandated
with our four four return of
students, you would unmask to eat lunch and sit at your table.
So there would be periods of the day
that students would be unmasked, even if there were a mask mandate.
Correct. Okay.
But you read in that contact tracing that
if two students are masked properly, they may not have to quarantine.
Correct. Okay.
Thank you.
Yeah.
I have one other question.
Donna Cronin, I know we touched on this last year, but
it just didn't seem to work out.
What are the
what has been the investigation
in terms of extra space to allow
more space in the cafeterias, whether it be outside at the high school,
opening up the campus elementary, Some students,
you didn't rotate on a rotating basis, eating in their classroom
so that they're not left vulnerable to being contact trace
just by virtue of having lunch. They can do everything else right.
And then lunch, boom, their contact tracing out for ten days.
How can we minimize that in all the buildings?
All right.
An answer.
What I'm saying is, can we address that?
Those can address that.
Yes, we I mean, the high school has
put more tables outside.
So outside seating is absolutely a possibility.
The middle school has had some discussion about continuing to use the lobby
outside of the cafeteria, in between the cafeteria, in the auditorium.
You know, where I mean where they were using last year, the elementary.
We have not talked about using classroom space for lunches on a rotating basis.
We do not have the staffing to monitor that in that way.
That does not mean that there are pieces that we can explore there.
But I do not have an answer for you on the elementary right at the moment,
But for the high school and middle school, its potential that we can get to a point
before school starts to say lunch will not be a point of of compromise.
I don't want to promise that. Right. Okay.
I don't want to promise that just because we do have large classes and
and for areas of students.
So while that would be
nice to be able to give you that, I can't I can't make that promise.
Right. Not to this evening.
But it is something that we can continue to work towards.
We can investigate it.
I cannot promise you that we can.
Were you in a situation that that like that
somebody is going to walk around and police the kids.
They don't have their masks on and they have to set six. Like I.
I understand your concern and you're trying to get ahead of it.
What I'm afraid is there's going to be a narrative
out in the community that's going to be like
that.
That just seems like a massive
statement.
Just want to have the ability to have more space.
So that they're not
that they want to be three feet apart.
I mean, if they want to be three feet apart, they could be
if that would if that would mean
that they're not part of the contact tracing.
But contact tracing is six feet. So
and six feet we had to do individual desks.
So and hybrid schedules.
Are we
you're going to be sitting close
to somebody at school this year?
I think it's like we want everybody back.
We want them to have this and we want them to have that.
And I think throwing that in is just like this huge like.
Yeah, no, I know. I totally get it.
I just want the worst of it. All right. Exactly.
But they're going to get contact traced.
I mean, I don't it's lunch, and then even if you said, like,
you cannot sit next to each other, I mean, just imagine a cafeteria full of kids.
Yeah. No, I got it.
Not arguing with you.
I'm just like, No, I realize it's not an easy answer.
I just want to, you know, the awareness that,
you know, getting people back to school is important.
And then you have 100 kids each day on quarantine.
I'm just making this up because of a contact tracing issue.
I just want to make sure that we're really thinking through the implications of
has been quarantined
repeatedly for exposures that end up
that are, you know, negative, negative, negative.
Yeah, We just have to be just to be very cognizant of
what we put in place
to make sure the kids aren't missing school
because they were sitting next to the wrong person or whatever.
Well, isn't there something in the plan that says
that the length of the
the quarantine can can be variable depending on the circumstances
and there's something that says that
I thought I saw that somewhere.
No, the only thing was if if you were vaccinated
or had COVID already and had no symptoms, you wouldn't have to be
you wouldn't have to be quarantined even if you were in contact.
I thought it said something about under certain circumstances,
the length of the
quarantine can be variable.
It's not just one size fits all.
That was the impression I had not related to any vaccines.
You're correct, Terry.
I'm trying to find the wording for you.
Well, I'm just mentioning it in terms of Dr.
Collins comments that it doesn't mean you're going to be out for ten days.
It doesn't sound like
I don't think it specified.
Yes, the district will consider options to shorten quarantine periods
based on local, state or federal guidelines,
providing the individual remains symptom free and continue
symptom monitoring.
People who have tested positive for COVID 19 within the past
three months and recovered do not have to quarantine
or get tested again as long as they do not develop new symptoms.
But that first comment stands independent of the second, doesn't it?
Correct. Yes.
Dr. Winslow, I just want to confirm as contact
tracing stands today so that we understand it
is that there are current
exemptions and exceptions to what would require
a quarantine period
and that would be if the individual were fully vaccinated or had COVID
within the last three months, they would not be required to quarantine
if they were to come into contact with someone who is positive.
Lungs are symptom free. Yes, Correct.
But in the elementary school, where
students are not vaccine eligible,
there is a caveat that
if both students were masked
and one of those students who had a mask tested positive,
that the students who were masked around them would not be subject to
contact tracing, correct?
Correct. That is the guidance.
So a student who is not masked
around all students who were masked
has COVID, all the students around them who weren't wearing the mask
would still have to quarantine correct, Because it would not be both students.
That's my understanding of it.
I also.
That is true.
Could you say that again, please? Sure.
Students who are not eligible to be vaccinated,
anyone under 12 at the time.
If both students, including
the COVID positive student or presumed positive student who initiated the contact
tracing, are in masks, then the contact tracing
would not require a quarantine period so long as they both had masks on.
But an unmasked COVID positive student would
require a quarantine period for all students around them.
Regardless of the close contacts mask status.
Thank you.
I guess I just have a couple of general comments
and I first want to say that the pandemic team, Dr..
And I really appreciate the way that the pandemic team has been engaged
in the conversation and the dialog that has gone on there this year.
I can't speak for every person on the pandemic team,
but I know for myself as part of it.
I do feel that we all have input and opportunity to dialog
and have questions and develop this and that.
This plan was discussed at length and I also very much
appreciate the minutes being shared and providing
as much information to the community about the process as possible.
I think that's something
that's really important and I'm grateful that you're doing that.
I did want to clarify one thing. As it was
mentioned in
the public comment earlier, I did ask the physicians
that were on the pandemic team to give their feedback.
They did agree mask being optional was the current rate
decision, given the community standards that were set, though
some of the physicians didn't mention that while that was their gains,
that their particular children, you know, would still wear masks.
So it was not a
you know, masks are not necessary.
They were just going with the community standard.
Overall, I struggle altogether with this
and while I will be voting in favor of it, because I support the administration's
recommendation and I know that things are constantly evolving, I think that
there are a lot of things that we need to continue to monitor and look at
on the
at the first pandemic team meeting that we had in July,
Dauphin County was in low transmission mode and low transmission level.
We were at the lowest, you know, positivity
rate, the lowest case count rate.
We've since moved back into moderate.
We're essentially at the numbers where we were this time last year
when we were discussing this on how to start and go back.
The current positivity rate as of today in Dauphin County is 4.03%.
It's a 1.85% increase Over the last seven days.
We've had a 53.66% increase
in case counts in Dauphin County in the last seven days.
Unfortunately, data is not being shared the same way that it was a year ago,
so it's harder to zone in on the district.
And I do think that the local case counts are really important
to take into consideration because when we hear national guidance,
it's taking into
account all areas, regardless of transmission level.
And so what works for people in high
transmission are substantial, does not necessarily work for low.
That being said, we are seeing a rise
and I want to make sure that we remain aware of that
and that this plan is subject to change as necessary
because the priority is keeping students in school for in-person instruction.
One of the things that I find has been the hardest
in this whole process is that the goalpost is constantly moving.
When we came back last year,
we were not able we found out we were not able to meet
distancing requirements in order for elementary students to be full time.
And so the argument was made, well, the CDC says six feet,
but the American Association of Pediatricians
say three feet, so we should follow three feet. But
the administration recommended to go with the six feet,
but we wanted to use the AP.
Now, this year, the AP saying
students are not eligible for four
vaccines should be masked,
but we're not following that recommendation anymore
or we're not following the CDC.
And I recognize how hyper divisive
this topic has become.
I reject the idea of it being political on this board,
because I don't believe that.
I don't believe that anyone here has anything to accomplish from
from that perspective.
I think we're all looking out for the best interests of the students.
But for me, looking and hearing that students
who don't have a mask and haven't been vaccinated could
impact
the learning opportunity and disrupt the learning opportunity
for in-person schooling for children who are wearing masks.
That takes away the freedom for me.
The the argument that parents need to make the choice because
the choice of one parent to not mask their child will directly take away that
the learning opportunity of another child.
I don't know what the answer is.
I'm frustrated by the Department of Education and the Department of Health
and frustrated by the CDC that more clear, concise
guidance has not been brought forward because it leaves individual school
districts in a really terrible position to have to try to decide what's best.
And this has been going on for a long time.
But I feel I would be remiss if I didn't
comment to that.
We hear often that we're supposed to be a school board
directors representing the people that we've been elected to serve.
And I do agree with that wholeheartedly.
That's why there's nine of us.
And sometimes we have to be able to represent other voices as well. And
I think it's lost it sometimes that just because you don't necessarily
hear it on public comment
or on social media channels that we're not hearing from other people.
And there is a large number of families who have reached out
and are concerned about their child.
I know for me, as a parent of a child who's not yet eligible to be vaccinated,
I do have that concern.
Fortunately for me, my child is in a building
where two thirds of the grades
are going to be able to have received a vaccine for the most part.
And so the risk is lower.
And so for me, I'm comfortable with mask optional
as a parent, But as a school board director, I struggle with K through five.
So I think that
we need to just make sure that we continue to go through this and
and have these conversations and be as transparent as possible about where we are
and know that like everything else that we've gone through, that
everything is subject to change, but we're going to do our best and.
The ultimate goal is in-person learning and we are all committed to that.
Thank you.
Anyone else have any
since
you're Mike on?
I don't believe it.
This is Donna Cronin.
I don't think anyone on this board thinks this is a simple decision
being part of the task force and just knowing that the pandemic team
I'm sorry, and knowing that it's already met
three times in in about three or four weeks.
I'm very happy with the process and the level of engagement.
I listened to all of the health professionals, so I'm including Dr.
Schall, as well as the physicians on the team.
So I'm comfortable
that we are in a position where we are looking at this in real time
and not just meeting once in a year and just, you know, and then not.
So I believe in the process.
I will be voting in support of this, but I obviously have a lot of issues with it.
QUESTION Dr.
Winslow, just because we've had so much community input
and I know a couple suggestions, where is my question is,
is there an opportunity and this may open too many cans of worms,
but to have the elementary where there are masked
and unmasked rooms to alleviate what Lindsay has mentioned?
Okay.
I'm just trying to I really want to address
the concerns of parents who understand the
the positives of masks, as well as those who see the detriments of masks
and would love to come to
some way to make everybody feel good about being in school without addressing
the risks that could result with the mixture of unmasked and mass.
I do want the parents to be able to make that decision
for their kids, but not risk other kids. So.
So that's absolutely not a possibility.
No. As I shared earlier, it completely disrupts the educational process.
Elementary school. Yeah.
And if our goal is to get all of these children back
a full, in-person, appropriate learning environment,
that it's it's not something that can be managed
because students don't stay in their classrooms the whole day.
It's not that kind of a learning environment.
We we go to when we go to specials,
we go to lunch, we go to recess, we go to. FARZAD And those are all places
where classes are combined and they move they move about with each other.
Interventions.
Students are pooled special education services.
They're they're not confined
to their classrooms in fourth and fifth grade, they teach.
So, you know, students go back and forth between teacher.
It's it's
if our priority is getting back to full in-person learning
and doing it the way that we do it here, which is a phenomenal way.
That's why we are so successful then that no,
it is not possible to have massed in a mass classrooms.
It also could be completely imbalanced
as far as the number of students needing, you know, making that request.
If you have 29 students want an unmasked classroom
and everybody else wants masked,
then you have a teacher with 29 kids maybe in first grade.
And we can't have two teachers doing that.
That throws off the rest of the numbers off.
And students at this point have already been placed based on their
their peer group students that they interact best
their learning needs and the teacher that's the best fit for them.
So all of those elements are already in place
and that begins in March.
Yeah, that's it's not something that just gets done in one or two weeks.
And you're talking about 1400 kids.
What about data on K through 12 in that age group as far as it like
transmission, like all of the medical data
on what that means for those kids, like how many of them
in our buildings had COVID transmitted it like,
I don't know the proper language, but that's what I'm looking at YouTube for.
Like, is there is there data on that age group and how how how are the probability
of them infecting people if they're not wearing masks?
Like, what's the science behind that age group when it comes to COVID
and making a decision?
I don't have the exact numbers, but I know in general that population
has a lower transmission rate and a lower intensity of COVID disease.
But that doesn't mean that there aren't exceptions to that.
And I guess that's the problem.
Nor does it apply to the variants.
Well, I think there's I think there's too many variables in your question,
because even for our district, we don't know the percentage
of students who have been vaccinated, the percentage of students who have been.
I have natural immunity by way of infection.
You know, I
think I think that some of the original observations
are still holding, and that is that younger
children are less likely to get it and they're less
likely to get severe disease and they're less likely to have
the long term complications and less likely to transmit it.
They can do all those things.
It's just that they're less likely then than their older cohorts
and and the adults.
But we don't have that data.
There's never been it's never been published to us
how the even though it's been requested by by Dr.
Cronin how that contact tracing has has held out
as I recall last year that wasn't we got that you did get that information.
We have that in a board brief.
How many kids tested positive after our contact trace?
I think that was back in a may board briefing. Yeah.
Lisa Miller
Just another if if at all feasible.
It would be nice if the administration could reopen the choice
for parents to go completely virtual if they've been made uncomfortable
or concerned by the rapid
developments in this in this pandemic.
A couple of things.
I think there's a just a follow up on what Ms..
Drew said earlier.
She alluded to the the community standard.
So very important concept in medicine.
What is the community standard, the standard of care
if if a lot of thoughtful, trained, considerate
people have gone through complex issues and are doing things a certain way,
well then
you should be doing it the same way, unless you have a very good reason not to.
And so what is the current community standard?
Well, as of today, Paul Meyer lowered off
in Middletown, Elizabethtown Central, North in Manheim, in Hempfield.
None of those districts are requiring masks
now that you know, as subject to change, depending on mandates.
And I would like to maybe reassure the public
that that we this this plan is not immutable.
This could change every month, depending upon the changing circumstances.
And one final one final comment.
I am having some difficulty running down some science
on on masks and finally came across the study.
This is a review and I can get anybody who wants an electronic copy.
It has to do with masks
and focusing somewhat on the undesirable side effects.
It's a German study published in the Journal
of Environmental
Research and Public Health in April of this year.
And it's 35 pages, single spaced.
It's a lot.
And I don't want to bore people with a lot of the physical allergy
and a lot of the
very concerning things that are in here.
But just I want to read out just a couple a couple of the highlights.
This this has to do with the
the ineffectiveness of masks
in a Danish prospective study on mask wearing carried out on about 6000
participants, scientists found no statistically significant difference
in the rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection when comparing the group of 3030
mask wearers with the 2994
MASKLESS participants in the study
and then another one regarding our children.
And I think it's I shouldn't say this.
I think there are some folks
who who assume that a mask is a is a free shot.
There's no downside to it.
And that's just that's just not so.
And probably
the best quote in this in this study are this review,
a recent observational study of 25,930
mask wearing children in Germany resulted in the following.
There were complaints of headache in 53% difficulty
concentrating and 50% joyousness and 49%
So a half had headaches, difficulty concentrating and joyousness.
There were learning difficulties and fatigue seen in 38
and 37% respectively.
25% were diagnosed with new onset anxiety and so.
So masks aren't a free shot.
This is this is a challenging decision.
And we will
maintain a careful eye on the science
and we will certainly follow any mandates.
But we will take and will take all recommendations into serious consideration. So
Jon and I have a comment, if I might, and I'll be brief.
I will vote for this because I think this is, you know, the most
the best assessment we can make as of today.
But I'm voting on it because my understanding is not set in stone.
I think Doctor Winslow said that.
So this is not permanent.
Beyond all.
You know, I do want to thank
the pandemic task force for meeting and looking at this.
I do want to, you know,
lean a lot on their on their recommendations.
I want to thank all the members
of the public that have come forward on the issue.
But I think it is appropriate that we go ahead and vote this plan,
realizing that we'll stay on top of the data as it comes in.
I just want to comment on
the data part, because that always comes back to me.
And, you know, we look at where is the science?
And it's important when we're talking about
the airborne election and all of those things.
There's not extensive data out there because
while it feels like COVID has been an eternity, it hasn't.
And so there are so many things that we're going to continue to evolve from.
And I do think that Dr.
Sharp brings up a good point about that.
You know, masks aren't a free shot, but there are a lot of things
that you have to look at in life of does the good outweigh the bad?
You know, I think about it from seatbelt use.
Most most people,
you know, the data the data shows that seatbelts
will save you
and protect you from you personally.
My sister died in a car accident,
being the only person wearing a seatbelt in the vehicle.
So when you have a personal experience like that, you know, you look at it.
And so people who
look at everything with so many different parts of it.
And so there are studies that say masks,
when all students are masked and there's layered mitigation,
that there's a 37 some percent, I believe the CDC quotes on,
you know, reduce transmission.
Is that enough for some people? I don't know.
I think at the end of the day, we have to look at the fact
that we're never going to accomplish meeting
the desires or preferences of everyone.
But we have to look at what is the best for all
or for the most, you know, in this situation.
And so it's certainly not something that's easy.
And we want to take into consideration
everyone's perspectives and make accommodations as we can.
But we need to just continue to monitor
and be ready to change as necessary.
Yeah, I just wanted to
make one observation as I plan to support the
vote. Yes on the on the plan.
But I do have a question
so it can be modified and changed each time.
What constitutes a significant change that would
necessitate another vote?
That's a good question, Mr.
Singer.
There there are no requirements
that would force us to bring it back to the board for a vote.
I think it would be an informational item most likely
once it is submitted to the state, we have flexibility to change it
and monitor as needed, but it does not have to go back
for an approval because we don't have to resubmit it.
But I mean, internally, if we decide let's say
we're doing the contact tracing and we find that we've got
dozens and dozens of mass students going out on contact tracing
because there was one person in the room that didn't have a mask
and we wanted to go back and say we want masking for elementary students.
What how would that how would that occur?
How would that happen then?
I think that's probably something that would I would bring to the board either
an agenda planning or an executive session to have some direction given.
And then we could decide how you wanted to move forward.
We would just go issue by issue, topic by topic, I believe so, yeah.
Thank you.
So our
our next pandemic team is August 9th, which is a board meeting date.
So I would not anticipate that any proposed
change would be brought forward in that quick of turnaround. So
no, it wouldn't be that quick, but we would of course, publish it.
Okay.
The same place where
we're publishing the minutes, we would just keep updating it.
Okay.
Thank you.
Does anyone else have any comments or questions
before we proceed to vote? Yes.
This is could you please do a roll call?
Vote for this item?
I'm going to story.
Yeah, we did first and second before
Cathy.
Maria again? Yes. Thank you.
Sure.
Mr. Able? Yes.
Dr. KERNAN?
Yes, Ms.. Drew?
Yes, Mrs.
Manning? Yes.
Mr. Rizzo?
Yes. Dr. Shaw. Yes.
Mr. Secker? Yes.
Mr. Singer? Yes. Nine. Yes.
Eight. Yes.
Thank you.
Okay.
Moving on to the emergency instructional time template. Dr.
Winslow, The administration recommends the board approve the Derry Township
School District 2021 2022 Emergency Instructional Time template.
Thank you.
May I please have a motion to approve the emergency instructional time template?
Some moved Kathy Seger second.
Maria Mimi, Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say any
motion passes
approval of the board, standing committee meeting dates. Dr.
Winslow, The administration recommends
the approval of the 2021 2022 standing committee meeting dates.
Thank you.
May I please have a motion to approve the 2021 2022 committee
meeting dates so moved Maria Mimi Second.
Donna Cronan Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor, please say I any oppose
Motion passes
Revised 2021 Committee Delegate Assignments.
May I please have a motion to approve the Revised 2021 committee
Delegate assignments so moved Maria me
second.
Donna Cronan Any discussion?
Just want to clarify that this is to update and place Mr.
Rizzo on the committees and delegate assignments that were vacated by Mrs.
Steiner.
There's no other discussion.
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor, please say hi.
Any opposed?
Thank you.
Joint Management Termination Agreement.
Dr. Winslow.
The administration recommends the board approve the Derry Township
and Derry Township School District Acknowledgment
Agreement to terminate and the following agreements
Gymnasium Facility Joint Management and Use Agreement and Amendment
to Gymnasium Facility Joint Management and Use Agreement.
May I please have a motion to approve the Joint Management Termination Agreement?
So move to Maria. Me second. Kathy Seger.
Thank you. Was there any discussion?
I just want to clarify
for public purposes what this is, because I think that
it can be very difficult to understand.
This relates to the gymnasium facility where
at the end of this Granada building
that the district entered into with the township many years ago,
there been various versions of that agreement over the years
as things change and the the tenant and operator,
you know, was in there this will
and those agreements and create
and stopping
point two that there was a share of the rent that was collected
for that property
between the school district and the township.
We were able to to work out an agreement
to to end that and
we'll clean things up a bit
for paperwork and agreements in place going forward.
Is there any other discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor, please say I, I any opposed
Motion passes
Approval of the Derry Township School District Comprehensive Plan.
Dr. Winslow.
The administration recommends the Board of Directors of Derry Township
School District hereby certify that the Derry Township School
District Comprehensive Plan for the periods of 2021 2022
through 2024 2025 has been available for public review, endorsed,
endorsed by her district staff, and is now approved by the duly elected board
as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Thank you.
May I please have a motion to approve the Derry Township School
District Comprehensive 2122 through 2425 plan so moved Maria me second.
Cathy Singer Is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor please say hi.
Any opposed
personnel resignations?
Dr. Winslow?
The administration recommends the approval of the personnel
resignations.
Okay.
I have a motion to approve the personnel resignations.
So move to Maria Mimi second, Donna Cronan,
is there any discussion?
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor, please say I.
I opposed
personnel.
General.
Doctor Winslow, The administration recommends the approval
of a list of personnel and recognition of any listed transfers.
Thank you.
May I please have a motion
to approve the listed personnel and recognition of any listed transfers?
So move to Murray Army.
Second, Terry Singer, is there any discussion?
I would just like to say welcome to our new athletic director
who is on the agenda for approval this evening.
I see him here in the audience and so I just wanted to say welcome to Mr.
Madero
and thank you to all of the candidates who applied.
Board members had opportunity to participate in that, and we were
fortunate to just have a really great field of candidates
and appreciate them, you know, for their interest
and are excited to welcome Mr.
Matador to the Derry Township School District.
This is a standard voice vote.
All those in favor say aye.
I for any opposed
personnel general is approved.
Moving on to delegate reports, the PSB report is attached to the agenda.
Dr. Cronin, do you have anything you would like to add?
I'm just pulling it up here so I can see it.
Just.
Just want to point out that obviously the CDC has issued guidances
for the 2122 school year, and we'll be monitoring as that changes.
And also that
the state budget,
new laws have been enacted based on that.
And the other one,
I think that's it.
That's the most important. You guys can all read that.
Thank you.
The CSU report is also attached to Mr.
Abel. Do you have anything you'd like to add?
I don't have anything further. Thank you.
Moving on to special reports.
Are there any board members who would like to give a report at this time?
Superintendent's report.
Dr. Winslow, do you have a superintendents report?
Just very briefly, I just wanted to thank the pandemic team
for the time and energy and effort that they've given to the work in
bringing ideas to the table and having open discussion.
It is not a team that all feels the same way about certain issues,
and I really appreciate bringing the different perspectives to the table.
It's very helpful.
And I
also just want to remind everyone that Bridge Day is coming up.
It's going to be a really exciting day to welcome everybody back
at the end of the at the end of the summer.
So we'd love to see board members attending that also.
That's on the 25th.
Okay.
Thank you.
Board President Report.
I just want to say once again, thank you to all of the candidates
who applied and were part of the
appointment process at our last special meeting.
And also thank you to Mr.
Rizzo for making the time.
We've had some great conversation and begun the onboarding process.
And Dr.
Winslow and I did that.
I think sometimes becoming a board
member can be like drinking from a fire hose. And
Mr. Rizzo has just been very gracious and
getting, you know, right up to speed on things.
So welcoming him to the board for his first official meeting
tonight, though, we're
seeing him on Zoom.
So we'll look forward to seeing him in person at the next meeting.
That is that concludes my report.
Will now move on to the final recognition of citizens for Public comment.
This is an opportunity for residents and taxpayers to address
the board on matters related to the agenda
or matters of district governance that were not on the agenda.
Those who speak are asked to follow the same guidelines outlined
at the initial public comment portion of our meeting.
Are there any residents or taxpayers who would like to comment at this
time?
I will start with those in person in the audience and then move on to virtual.
Mr. Miller.
Hello again.
John Miller 329 Cocoa Avenue.
So I want to clarify
probably why American Pediatrics
last year, no masks this year, masks
last year.
Pfizer probably felt it appropriate
that children and people around school age didn't have to be masked.
But this year,
and in light of the fact that they have a vaccine out to the public,
you go on the website, American Pediatrics, Pfizer,
one of their donors, big donor.
So we have to be careful when we're looking at studies
and even even, you know, we see that the largest teachers union
I come from a family of teachers I love teachers.
The teachers union and CDC were working together
to do to work on reopening plans.
And it's it's it's this vicious cycle I'm afraid we're going to get into
as I sitting back there, I'm just thinking.
So we have with this COVID thing working on here, and it's all based
on a lot of assumptions, one that masks work.
Let's just say the
studies are correct, that there's a 37% reduction,
but that's predicated on the fact
that the children are putting on the PPE effectively.
I work around asbestos, cement and construction,
so we go through asbestos, cement, training, OSHA,
and it takes quite a while
and it's pretty complex and
the standards are rigorous if you want the PPE to work properly.
So the 37% reduction, I mean, we all know that that's not the case here.
And in fact, I think that's where we have some of the concerns coming in
2018.
I think 40
have it in my folder here.
Number one, cause of death, Spanish flu, 1917,
bacterial pneumonia, dirty masks, I can tell you.
And my daughter gets out of school.
I mean, the mask is disgusting sweat
and she pulls out of her pocket and she's put in our face.
I mean, that breaks my heart as a father really does.
And then
so it's an assumption the masks work.
The other assumption, the vaccines work.
I know that there's people in my family somehow that's under
that's a personal decision.
I think it's a mistake to to have that as one of the one of the.
Yes. No. Can we go back to school?
Well, if you're vaccinated, that's one thing,
because we don't have long term data to say that that's that that works.
Maybe it does, I don't know.
But we just don't have that now.
The studies, you know, who funds them,
there's a lot of them, big corporations that are making a lot of money right now
and they're funding a lot of studies through a lot of different organizations.
I find that meta analysis is probably the best method.
There's some free websites out there that you can compile
different studies from from all different kinds of resources.
And, and and they can weigh biases
and they can also look at how many citations that has.
I found it's useful to see through the it's
so it's a fog it's tough to see through.
And then the last thing here, number four test work.
Now, recently there
is a group of politicians that flew from Texas to to Washington.
They were all vaccinated.
They were around vaccinated people,
and six of them came up positive for COVID.
So either the tests don't work or vaccine doesn't work.
It can't it's it can't be both. So
thank you.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in person who would like to comment
at this time?
Oh, my name is Marty Staveley.
I live at 241 Hilltop Road in Hummelstown.
I'm a resident taxpayer of the Derry Township
School District and thanks for letting me speak.
I just had a general question and I'm trying to get up to speed here on
another issue that I'm seeing in the news regarding school boards.
Of course that you've been dealing with that a lot.
And you know, I feel for you having to deal with that.
But the other issue that I hear in the news
is in regard curriculum and
the critical race theory.
You hear that abbreviation CRT and school
boards are being asked about that around the country.
Is that part of your curriculum?
And I guess I just want to know tonight, maybe I'm coming late to the game
and I should know this A as a resident
is any form of that or in the curriculum.
The Derry Township School District.
Is there any set of courses
or anything that's being taught to the children
that have to do with race and their
how they perceive others and in their world and in their environment?
Is there any thing like that ongoing in
Derry Township?
Feel it.
Yeah.
Thank you for attending and for your question.
It is certainly a very complicated
issue and has been something that's been brought up many times.
I would encourage that you reach out to Dr.
Winslow directly.
She has provided public comment on it in response to some comments previously,
but typically during this time we do not engage in question and answers. So
please do reach out to Dr.
Winslow for those answers.
Okay.
Is that is that something that a taxpayer is allowed to do?
Look at the curriculum that's taught.
Yeah, I would say Dr.
Winslow can address that because that is publicly available
at the full our full curriculum is available on the website.
If you go to the curriculum browser
and go to courses and subjects,
there will be a big icon that says Rubicon Atlas.
You click on that and then that will take you to a site
that allows you to browse and see anything that you want to.
And if you have any trouble getting, you know,
navigating that, I'm more than happy to help you.
But our whole entire curriculum is posted there.
Okay. Well, thanks again. Thank you.
I think I did see another hand back there.
It had
Amanda book.
458 Stafford Church Road.
Do I have permission to start?
Okay, I'm going a little bit of a different way, so hopefully this.
This makes sense.
I'm just following a Jesus lunch here, so I just want to thank each of you
for showing up tonight.
I want you to know
I think you are courageous for serving our district in this manner.
It has to not be easy and it might not even be something
that you look forward to at this stage of COVID.
In the last meeting,
one of you commented about people stopping you at the grocery store.
This really helped me to pause to see you as people.
You guys are people.
You have a life outside of this boardroom.
You you each
fill your seats with your own story and your own stress.
I know how hard it is for me to get out of the door on time to make it somewhere
with four kids.
But here you guys,
I know that the person to the left or the right of you
doesn't even probably know your personal struggles.
And it's hard to being you.
And Lindsay, I am so sorry about your sister.
That has to be so hard.
Death walks with you for the rest of your life.
So I'm sorry that part of your story
every day
when you enter the world, even back before COVID, you were taking a risk.
A risk just like when you're walking across street.
I want you to know that I'm praying for you
whether you want my prayers or not.
I truly believe that you were each made for this.
I do not believe you are evil.
If we do not agree, I no mask and no mask and vaccines.
It's been hot and heavy for a while.
But I want you guys to know that you're a gift to this community.
You have great power whether you realize it or not.
Tonight, as we walk away and go home, I be praying for your household.
How we praying for you to have the sweetest dreams and for you to power
on to make the best decisions for our community.
You are loved, you are needed, and you are making a difference.
I encourage you to fight on,
to provide the best education for our children.
We are Hershey and the world comes to visit us.
So I just want to say thank you. Thank you for fighting.
I'm sure stress has been super, super high.
We are a whole bunch of mama and papa bears for our babies.
I know some of you guys are parents too.
And I just want to thank you for for showing up and fighting the good fight.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Is there
anyone else in person who would like to comment
or not?
We will move on to virtual hands raised.
Mr. Tiger
at this time.
We have Sarah Ryan.
Thank you. Ms..
Ryan, you're being unmuted
and you may go ahead after stating your name and address.
Please.
This is Sarah Ryan at 50 Cedar Avenue.
I just had two quick questions.
One of the board members, I think maybe it was Dr.
Shah had mentioned studies on masks and reported some findings.
And I was just wondering where I could see a copy of the studies.
Now, my other question, and again, I may have just missed this
Will online instruction be
available to students that are required to quarantine?
And I know you said this is in question answer.
So I'm happy to be directed where I can find that information myself.
Thank you.
Subash
Yeah, for the online instruction and then for anything else.
Or if you want to follow up, I would recommend either emailing Dr.
or submitting a community correspondence form
so that he would receive that and be able to respond.
Okay, great.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for the question.
If a student does have to quarantine and it's COVID related,
we will allow them to zoom into the classroom.
So that is is something that is in the works and is a part of the plan.
Great. Thank you. Absolutely.
Thank you, Ms.. Ryan.
Next, we have Michelle DAVIES.
Thank you, Ms.. DAVIES.
When I hear a muted
you can go ahead and state your name and address and proceed, please.
Michelle DAVIES, 1524, Church Road, Hershey.
I just wanted to clarify.
I asked I made the mistake of not wording
or not reading word for word, the minutes for the pandemic team.
And I didn't mean to insinuate that
the doctors said that mass aren't necessary.
I was referring to that.
They felt that the right decision was that masks are optional at this time.
So if I misspoke, I apologize.
I was speaking off the fly
because I didn't really plan to talk tonight
and the rest of the information
that was shared was not in the minutes.
So I just wanted to clarify that.
And I also wanted to just
recommend to the board that if
feasible, if changes
are made to the mask
policy for the health and safety plan,
I would encourage you guys to figure out
a way to send a survey out that's mandatory for parents to out
to get a full picture of what the parents feel
and that if we're changing it and mask mandate, then
the correspondence forms are great.
But I don't feel that they give a they only give a small picture
a percentage for what the parent community
for our district as a whole feels.
And because it's probably closer to 50,
50% on either side of the fence.
So I just want to just bring that up.
Thank you.
And I didn't think that you misinterpreted it.
So I apologize if that's how it sounded.
I had not read the minutes directly and pulled them up during the meeting
because I was at the meeting.
So I hadn't looked at those ones. Okay.
Is there anyone else who would like to participate
in public comment at this?
We have Kelly Howells.
Thank you, Michelle.
Please go ahead.
Once you are muted with your name and address and proceed
I telehealth.
1047 I'll try and hummelstown.
I just wanted to provide a couple of other
maybe insight based on some of the other comments for
thoughts.
The first is
I heard somebody ask about the Journal article
that was referenced for
some students in Germany
and some of the outcomes for kids wearing masks.
And I just wanted to
mention that the publisher
and I is what's considered
to be
possibly a predatory journal,
a Tory journal.
If you look, as it says, predatory publishing is an exploitive
academic publishing business model that involves charging publication fees.
Authors without checking articles for quality and legitimacy.
So I just want to encourage everyone, when you're looking at these articles
to, also look at the publication source
that it's in so that you can
search that and figure out
just because it says peer review doesn't always mean
that it's been rigorously reviewed.
Let's see
also the comment about bacterial pneumonia and some here over that
with mask wearing.
The the article by Fouchier
actually if you search the article doesn't mention mask I think bacterial pneumonia
is a secondary infection based on the virus in the lungs.
So just
again, a note to kind of read your sources and look at the
the journal that it's written, if at all possible.
I know that the state has not mandated mask wearing.
I did hear a lot of people say, I'm going to vote yes, but
and then talking about revisiting this and then the very
good question was asked about what causes a revisit to this.
And I guess I have the same store, which is not open for discussion
now, but
I guess I if there is discomfort,
I hope that it can be revisited
and maybe it would be reword worked and maybe it would not.
But it sounds like there's a bit of hesitation.
And additionally, it sounded like in the beginning
and I may have misheard, so please forgive me if I did, but it sounded like
there were a lot of families that were in favor of masking.
So I'm wondering if
there was a vote kind of against this.
In spite of that, because of the work and effort that went into this
and at least having a plan in place.
But just to bring that up again also.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else for public comment
at this time?
Seeing none.
Public comment is now closed.
Is there anything else for the good of the order,
the next public Board of Directors meeting will be held on Monday, August
nine, 2021, starting at 7:00 pm here in the Board of Directors Room.
Please refer to the District website
for how to register for virtual attendance as the meeting draws closer.
May I please have a motion to adjourn this meeting?
So moved. Maria Miami second.
Donna Cronan.
All those in favor, please say I am opposed.
This meeting is adjourned at 8:27 p.m..
Thank you.
Have a good night.