BOE Votes to Delay Return

On Oct. 20, the Wichita Board of Education (BOE) made a decision to allow students that had chosen the face-to-face option at enrollment in Sept. to return to school two days a week in a blended onsite and my-school-remote model.

Community members were concerned about the recent increase in Covid-19 cases in Sedgwick county and urged the BOE to hold an emergency meeting to reconsider sending students back.

A motion made during the emergency meeting on Oct. 30 passed 4-3 to reaffirm the motion previously made by the board, with an amendment to start in-person for secondary schools on Nov. 12 instead of the 9.

Speakers at the meeting stated that they cannot identify the reason for such a dramatic increase because no clusters of outbreaks have been found in the district.

Stan Reeser, a member of the board, made a motion for this amendment because of concern for the board meeting on Nov. 9 and making changes after students have returned for one day.

A plethora of data was shared at the meeting that showed reasons to move to full-remote.

Since Aug. 1, 167 staff and 107 students, including remote students, have become infected with Covid-19.

Recently, over 100 staff members were quarantined due to possible exposure to the virus.

Despite the risks, the four board members were in favor of the motion because they stressed social and emotional health in students.