MADISON — Madison Local Schools has revised its plan should Richland County reach purple status on the state’s COVID-19 rating system.
The board of education voted Tuesday to update its coronavirus reopening plan, allowing superintendent Robert Peterson to make the call on whether or not to shutter in-person classes and go virtual if Richland County reaches a Level 4 in the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.
“It doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t close, but we wanted to have the flexibility to allow for that if we weren’t seeing the spread in our community,” Peterson explained. “I would be consulting with Richland Public Health and looking closely at data that is specific to our particular community and our particular district.”
The changes to Madison’s policy will be effective starting next semester, meaning that if Richland County were to go purple before Jan. 6, the district would go remote.
“I believe that our parents made the decision whether to send their students to school face-to-face or keep them home-based on our plan that we put in place back in August and I don’t want to switch gears in the middle of the semester,” Peterson said.
Madison is one of numerous districts that have amended their COVID-19 policies to allow flexibility about whether or not to go remote under Level 4. Ontario, Lexington and Shelby have all made similar policy changes in the last month, but unlike Madison, their policy changes were “effective immediately.”
Shelby approved the update at its Oct. 12 meeting, following conversations with the district’s legal counsel and the Shelby City Health Department.
“No matter what the color is, we have the flexibility based on the recommendation of the Shelby City Health Department,” superintendent Tim Tarvin said.
Although school districts developed their back-to-school plans with guidance from local public health officials, the details of those plans are ultimately up to school boards.
When school districts began releasing their plans earlier this summer, every plan stated that classes would be all-virtual if the county hit Level 4.
When Richland County came close to that designation for the first time earlier this month, school administrators began to reconsider.
“Originally, all of our plans said, ‘If we’re purple, of course we’re going to go to virtual instruction,’ but then we opened and we’re all doing very well,” said superintendent Lisa Carmichael of Ontario Schools. “It seemed some of the high incidents were maybe at the prisons or in different areas and not necessary with students.”
Superintendent Jeremy Secrist cited similar reasons to the Lexington Local school board, which amended its plan on Oct. 21.
“We wanted the freedom, if that was the situation again, not to be forced into closing if there weren’t (high-case numbers) in our district,” Secrist said. “The changes to the plan allow the district to make decisions regarding in-person and remote instruction based upon the current status of the district, rather than the Governor’s color-alert system.”
“Regardless of the color, we’re going to do what’s best for the health and safety of our students.”
Richland County almost went purple earlier this month, when it triggered six of seven indicators under the Ohio Public Health Advisory System and was placed on a “watch” list. Increased case numbers and hospitalizations were due in part to outbreaks at Richland Correctional Institution and Mansfield Correctional Institution.
Reed Richmond, health education and communications specialist at Richland Public Health, stated the recent changes implemented by area schools were not made based on the agency’s recommendations.
“It is up to each school district to make modifications to their own plans and policies as they see fit,” Richmond said. “Richland Public Health is here in an advisory capacity. We are pleased that school boards and administrators have been vigilant in making sure their students and staff are as protected as much as possible from the spread of coronavirus.
“This is a pandemic and as we learn more information we have to be willing to adapt.”
