ONTARIO — Parents and staff seem to be largely in agreement about what the return to school should look like, according to a survey commissioned by the Ontario Local School board.
Mike Ream, district director of education, reported the preliminary results of the survey at Tuesday night’s board meeting. So far, it has garnered 560 responses from parents and 118 from staff.
The survey questions were based on the assumption that there will be no significant medical advancement or vaccine for COVID-19 before the start of the school year
More than two-thirds of parents (77 percent) said they would definitely send their children back to school in the fall. Only 8 percent said they definitely would not, with the remaining 15 percent saying they were undecided.
Parents and teachers generally disapprove of a mask mandate for students and teachers, with 71 percent of parents and 69 percent of teachers voting against requiring masks.
Ream explained that before schools reopen, districts will likely be given mandates as well as optional recommendations.
Seventy one percent of parents and 66 percent of staff members said they would favor sticking to the mandates, rather than trying to incorporate recommendations as well.
The survey also asked what would be required for teachers and parents to feel safe returning or sending their children to school.
Respondents generally favored regular temperature checks for students and staff — 73 percent of parents and 65 percent of staff supported checks for personnel; 70 percent of parents and 68 percent of teachers favored student checks.
Both parents and staff overwhelmingly favored additional disinfecting practices for classrooms and common areas. The district has already purchased five electrostatic backpack sprayers that can be used to disinfect classrooms.
Seventy percent of parents and 61 percent of teachers said they would not want students to be socially distanced, as it would not allow for a return to five days a week, in-school classes.
While the survey doesn’t close until June 15, Ream said he doesn’t expect major changes, since percentage responses have remained consistent throughout the duration of the comment period.
The board also held a public hearing on the rehiring of district superintendent Lisa Carmichael. At its March 10 meeting, the board approved Carmichael’s retirement at the end of the 2019-2020 school year and declared its intent to rehire her for the 2020-2021 school year.
Multiple members of the public spoke in favor or Carmichael’s rehiring, including former school board members Tom Beck and Sam VanCura.
Beck called Lisa “one of the tops,” noting that under her direction the district had passed multiple levies, added STEM classes and maintained a low operating budget.
“I did serve a number of different superintendents, never had a bad superintendent, they were all good, a few of them were great. Lisa is one of the ones I considered to be a great one,” said Beck, who spent 36 years on the school district.
Andy Foss said he had no problems with Carmichael as a superintendent, but he favored hiring a new superintendent to save taxpayers money.
“My issue is on a retire-rehire is it’s taxpayer funded in the pension and salary, so we’re double-dipping off the backs of the taxpayers,” he said. “I’d like to ask the board to consider the taxpayers in this issue and give other people a chance to rise through the ranks.”
Herb and Deb Muncy said they favored rehiring Carmichael.
“To rehire someone of her quality is going to cost just as much as what we’re paying her,” Muncy said.
The board vote on whether or not to rehire Carmichael should take place at its July meeting.
