UPDATE: Further information regarding reopening can be found here.
FULTON – The Fulton City School District Board of Education met last night, August 10 and discussed reopening for the 2021-2022 school year.
During public forum two people spoke, Meagan Keib and Jennifer Standish.
Keib discussed her thoughts on the updated COVID-19 safety protocols, specifically wearing a face mask at school.
“I ask that you give parents the choice rather than make a blanket district mandate,” Keib said. “Students are not comfortable, they are hot, they are sweaty, they are breathing in their exhausted air and any other germ or bacteria that may have made its way into that mask that day. Their ears hurt from the straps. The mask itself is its own distraction.”
Keib said other neighboring districts have stated they will begin the school year without masks or social distancing and hopes Fulton follows in their footsteps.
Standish, a parent with five children in the district, said she believes that face masks do not stop the spread of COVID-19 and are harmful to children’s health.
“We have stood by and watched as our children have fallen behind,” Standish said. “They have dealt with depression, anxiety, headaches, hyperventilation and fatigue, first from just their entire lives being shut down and then the constant wearing of masks.”
She said she does not believe there is any reason for face masks, part-time school or lock-down measures, and that children are at no more risk for COVID-19 than the seasonal flu.
Following public forum, board members volunteered to serve on committees for the district.
Superintendent Brian Pulvino then gave a report on the district’s school buildings’ readiness. He and board members will be touring the school buildings before students come back. He also discussed reopening for the 2021-2022 school year, thanking Keib and Standish for their input.
He said he was proud the elementary school students were able to return to school five days a week at the end of the last school year, while other districts’ elementary students were only there for two days, and proud of the district’s accomplishments during the 2020-2021 school year.
Pulvino said the county is now at a ‘substantial’ transmission rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Onondaga County is now in the ‘high’ range. He said New York State Education Department reported they would provide guidance in regards to COVID-19 protocols in schools in the absence of guidance from the state health department or governor, and also told districts to continue to use guidance from the CDC and Academy of Pediatrics in the meantime.
“Things could change over time,” Pulvino said.
He listed the following as anticipated protocols for reopening in September, but can always change if the data changes.
- All Pre-K through Grade 12 students will learn in-person five days a week with a full schedule.
- Pre-K will be in school from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., 12:35 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
- Grades K-6 will be 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Grades 7-12 will be 7:35 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.
- Face masks will be required for all individuals for all indoor events, regardless of vaccination status, and there will be designated mask breaks.
- Face masks will not be required for outdoor events.
- Face masks will be required for all individuals when on a bus.
- There will be physical distancing of three feet indoors, however, music and physical education will be six feet indoors.
- Contact tracing and quarantine will be indicated by the health department.
- Daily health screenings will continue.
He said if the COVID-19 cases go down, they can look at other alternatives.
Pulvino then went through updates with the Capital Improvement projects, and announced that through the Fulton Police Department, a Special patrol officer/school resource officer will be hired and Pulvino anticipates for that person to start in the beginning of September.
The board then went through the remainder of the agenda, including the FCSD School Safety plan, which can be found here. The full agenda can be found here. The video of the full meeting can be found here.
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