WCSD Meets to Review, Adjust School Reopening Plans

Aug 10, 2020
Aug 10, 2020

WCSD Meets to Review, Adjust School Reopening Plans

The Washoe County School Board finished updates to their reopening plan early Wednesday morning, after an eight-hour long public meeting at Spanish Springs High School.

Board members say there are 1,600 guest teachers ready to fill in, in case a teacher stays home. Trustees say if there are too many absent teachers, the school could close. They also finalized criteria for closures based on the number of cases and positivity rate.

The next meeting is August 25th.

If the School District meets two of the three criteria below, it'll shut down schools.

The criteria is as follows:

* Seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 is more than 100 for two weeks

* Seven-day average positivity rate greater than 10% for two weeks

* Seven-day increase in positive cases of 10% or more for two weeks

Original Story: The Washoe County School District (WCSD) Board of Trustees will resume in-person public meetings on Tuesday, August 11. The 4 p.m. meeting will be held at Spanish Springs High School at 1065 Eagle Canyon Drive in Sparks.

Face coverings will be required for all attendees and participants, and physical distancing will be strictly observed.

Board members are scheduled to discuss whether to approve the 2020-2021 ‘A’ Major Projects Program in the amount of $16 million to include projects throughout the District. The board will also hear a presentation from Washoe County Commission Chairman Bob Lucey regarding the LEAP (Local Empowerment Advisory Panel) and its role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The LEAP is charged with creating recommendations at the local level based on the data available for a particular county that best meets the needs of that community.

The Board is also scheduled to discuss a proposed threshold that would allow Superintendent Dr. Kristen McNeill to transition from in-person/hybrid learning in elementary-, middle-, and high schools to full distance learning based on information and guidance from the Washoe County Health District. The Board of Trustees will be provided with an update on the status of the reopening plans including the models of in-person, hybrid and distance at elementary-, middle-, and high schools.

Public comment will be taken during the meeting and members of the community may also send their comments before and during the meeting to publiccomments@washoeschools.net.