Board Members:
We come to the end of week two of the shutdown. It is not news to you at this point that our closure has been extended to the end of April. Here is my announcement and update that was posted this morning. Truth be told, I will not be too surprised if that closure is extended further.
Everyone involved in the school effort has been working incredibly hard to keep us moving forward. This includes the teachers who are engaging with our students in ways that were unimaginable a few short weeks ago, and our food service staff that is preparing meals to feed the children. I also want to give special acknowledgement to our maintenance staff, of which they (along with our general contractors) are the only ones left working in the district on a daily basis.
Next week I would like to call an emergency meeting of the board to consider continuing resolutions for pay for our employees. These arguments are the same as they were in the original resolution. We do have some additional legislative clarity (although no one was willing to go on the record) that is what they would like us to do. At the same time, this was one of the key points in the recent CARES Act stimulus package. Again, so long as the revenue continues to come in, my belief is that we pay our people.
We also need to consider our continuity of education plans. There are two scenarios available to us where we would not need to make up the lost instructional time: providing voluntary educational opportunities or providing required educational opportunities. While I don't have a final recommendation for you as of yet, we are leaning toward maintaining voluntary opportunities since the capacity doesn't exist to require this of our teachers or parents. My belief is that we don't need to add additional stress on any of our community right now. Further, it is worth noting the DE has granted has broad authority to award credit and to meet the needs of students while holding them harmless.
I would then, like to propose an electronic board meeting, using Zoom for Wednesday, March 8th at 5:00. I don't anticipate it taking very long and I'll have the administrators available to answer questions as well. Expect a text follow up shortly with this request.
While an agenda hasn't been developed yet, a folder has been set up with two documents that I would recommend you review in advance of our meeting.
The photo I am sharing with you depicts the work that is continuing in the district, specifically related to Phase III. As you can see here, they have removed the wall separating the addition from the commons.
Have a great weekend
Dr. Tony Voss, Superintendent
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