Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
COLFAX — “So, is this the last meeting online?”
“I sure hope so. I don’t know why it wouldn’t be.”
The School Board met Monday night, with an opening question from Jennifer Hauser, board president, and answer from Superintendent Jerry Pugh.
With School District Technology Director Carter Comito at the digital meeting controls, the board took in updates on hybrid-learning plans for the junior-senior high school, practice time to be allowed for sports this fall, a construction update and more.
With a recommendation from the Whitman County Health Department to bring back junior and high school students for in-person learning, Colfax will begin a hybrid model Oct. 5, taking kids with last names in the first half of the alphabet into school on Monday and Tuesday, followed by online for everyone Wednesday while the school buildings are cleaned, followed by kids of the second half of the alphabet going in-person Thursday and Friday.
Colfax Junior-Senior High School Principal David Gibb joined the meeting from his phone to explain how it will all work. The numbers of students in each group – deemed “Blue” and “Gold” are 126 and 129, respectively.
“In my head it works out perfect, and it makes a lot of sense, too,” Gibb said.
“We’re hoping it will be a great first step in bringing all kids back,” Pugh said.
To a board question about whether all kids can come back at once and remain socially-distanced, Gibb indicated that class sizes are small enough to account for kids staying six feet apart.
“We worried more about the total population in the building,” said Gibb.
Classroom space with room to spread out would also come from the new STEAM lab, along with the band room, as the musicians will use half of the gym or perhaps move into the auditorium.
With the news of the older kids returning, Pugh noted it would help with another virus-related matter.
“We are super-concerned about the lack of kids riding buses,” he said, as numbers of bus riders ties directly to transportation counts (in the next two weeks) for funding.
“Keep wearing the masks, keep social distancing, keep those gatherings within guidelines in what the county has asked us to do,” Pugh said.
The meeting also included a note by Pugh about the district’s special education department.
“I’d like to take a moment and thank our special education staff for the work they do... “ he said as part of his opening remarks. “At Jennings Taylor Cochran; Jennifer Cooper and Art Powers at the high school, school psychologist Molly Haffner.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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