Board Members:
I apologize in advance for the length of today's bulletin!
I hope you are all well this afternoon and looking forward to a relaxing weekend. It has been another very busy week in the district as we make plans for the return of teachers next week. The high school is ready to go, and the majority of our construction work has been consolidated to the commons or other spaces not typically used for instruction. We do have a couple of outstanding instructional spaces that are still restricted and a handful of rooms that still need to be cleaned, but for the most part we are in decent shape. I have been leaning hard on our contractors to keep pushing, but some of the subs are not being as cooperative as we all would like!
I want to spend just a little time today talking about the mechanics of our school board meeting on August 10th. At this point, I actually have two items for consideration and action in the agenda, both are related. One is to determine the learning model and the other is to take action on the resumption of fall activities. While I felt comfortable unilaterally deciding to restart baseball and softball, I believe our fall sports fit into an entirely different category where your voice is of critical importance.
Yesterday as you are likely aware, the governor held a press conference where metrics were shared that can be used to help with decision points. You probably noticed that I sent out a survey request to families this morning, this followed by the same survey request that was sent out to faculty and staff last night. In addition, I'll have several other data points for your review (if you take a look at the annotated agenda for August 10th, you can see those data).
Even though you will have access to a plethora of data, I do not anticipate this will be an easy decision, particularly since it is likely some data will be conflicting. For example, while I have been crystal clear that the input we receive should not be construed as a 'vote', some certainly will. At the same time, others will believe one particular data set should carry more weight than another, or that their opinion is more valid than someone else. I trust you are getting the same emails that I am, many of which are quite incendiary. At the end of the day, our decision must be guided by the facts and in the best interest of our students and community writ large.
The decision you will make on August 10th is of significant public interest, and it is not unlandish to consider the historic nature of this act. Because of the interest in this meeting, I'll send out a Zoom link via our JMC email list next Friday and allow our community to listen to the debate and discussion. At the same time, I believe it appropriate to forego our normal public comment period, particularly since we have received so many emails and have given the public an opportunity to have their voice heard via countless surveys that have been sent out over the course of the last several months. However, if you wish to include this as a part of the agenda, I'll defer that decision to President Ball. My only sincere request is that if you have specific questions of me, please send them in advance so I have ample time to prepare a response.
Because our decision centers around reopening our physical brick and mortar buildings, I do believe it is important we hold this meeting in person, of course practicing physical distancing per your Board Order from July 20. Certainly if you are uncomfortable attending in person, we will accommodate that--it is very important that all voices are heard for this important meeting.
Following the meeting, I'll be excited to give you a tour of the facility.
Dr. Tony Voss, Superintendent
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