These Johnson County districts delay the start of school due to rising COVID-19 cases
Johnson County’s largest districts will delay the start of school until after Labor Day, worried that bringing thousands of students back to class would risk public safety and lead to further outbreaks of COVID-19.
Blue Valley, Olathe and Shawnee Mission districts announced their decisions after the Kansas State Board of Education rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s order to delay school. District officials in the state’s most populous county agreed to follow the directive regardless, as the number of new coronavirus cases continues to rise.
In a letter to the state board of education, superintendents from five Johnson County districts — Olathe, Shawnee Mission, De Soto, Spring Hill and Gardner-Edgerton — supported delaying the start of school.
“We are currently not doing well in Johnson County. … Our case numbers are abysmal for June and July,” said Shelby Rebeck, Shawnee Mission’s health services coordinator, at a four-hour board meeting Wednesday night.
“What is happening in our community will dictate what can happen in our schools,” she said, adding that the county health department is expected to offer guidance on when it is safe for students and staff to return.
As of Thursday morning, Johnson County had reported 4,161 coronavirus cases, and 96 residents have died from the virus. That’s an increase of 352 cases since Monday.
The most cases — 1,063 — have been reported among residents in their 20s. But the number of cases among children and teens under the age of 19 also has been rising, with 609 cases reported in that age group as of Thursday.
“We have a great responsibility in front of us to provide a safe learning and working environment for our students and staff during the 2020-21 school year,” said Blue Valley Superintendent Tonya Merrigan, in a statement. “While our Back to School plans have been informed by local, state and national health and education officials, our plan prioritizes what is most important for Blue Valley — the health of our students and staff.”
District officials hope to use the extra few weeks to secure protective equipment, train staff to use online learning platforms and practice new routines. It is unclear whether students would return to in-person instruction after Labor Day.
State guidelines give districts the final say in how to operate schools depending on the severity of COVID-19. Districts could choose to bring all students back to class, move to online-only instruction, or implement a hybrid of the two.
On Tuesday, the Kansas City, Kansas, school board voted to follow Kelly’s order and also delay in-person classes for the first nine weeks of the school year. Students will instead return to school virtually, officials said.
In the Missouri side of the metro, Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell said Wednesday he wants to delay the start of school until after Labor Day and then offer classes online only until the COVID-19 case numbers drop. But the school board would have to approve that decision.
In Kansas, Kelly on Monday signed an executive order delaying the start of school until Sept. 9. But on Wednesday, the Kansas State Board of Education could not secure enough votes to approve the order. On a 5-5 tie, the vote failed.
But schools will still have to follow a separate order from Kelly, which requires districts to implement certain safety measures, including masks and temperature checks.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 11:59 AM.
