School board prepares for Plan A

    Murphy – Cherokee County Board of Education members gave Superintendent Jeana Conley the authority to move all schools into the state’s Plan A once the bill to reopen schools across the state to in-person learning becomes law.
    Cherokee County Schools moved all schools to a four-day plan this month. Elementary schools were already under Plan A, or minimal social distancing, while middle and high schools were open under Plan B, or moderate social distancing. Under Plan A, more students can be in the classroom, plus more students can be on school buses.
    Senate Bill 37 requires all schools offer in-person learning and allows districts to chose between Plan A or B for their schools. It continues to allow families to choose remote learning and does not mandate that students return to class.
    Conley said she thinks moving to Plan A and operating on a five-day week will bring more students back to in-person learning. She said Murphy High School had 200 students on campus Thursday, a week after the school moved to the four-day plan option. The school has 455 students and had the potential to have 296 students on campus once moving to four days.
    “Students are wanting to come back,” she said.
    To avoid having to call a special meeting, Conley asked the board to empower her with the ability to move the schools into Plan A once the bill becomes law.
    “I think we all want to get back to five days a week,” Tatham said, urging caution on taking Wednesdays away from teachers. “I know that is a catch your breath day.”
    Board chairman and Union County, Ga., teacher Arnold Mathews agreed.
    “I think Wednesday is a day to catch up,” he said.
    Conley said as the bill is written, students in the exceptional children program would have to be back five days. She added that Wednesday is still an instructional day. She also pointed out that Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle School only has 12 students remote, and she would hate for an entire school to have to be remote one day week because of 12 students.
    Conley’s biggest concern was high school students and getting them back on campus. She said educators have been spending a lot of time working on social and mental health situations with high school students.
    “Every day we can lay eyes on them is a good one,” Conley said.
    Moving to Plan A can also allow the district to operate buses at full capacity. Under Plan B, only one student is permitted per bench seat, reducing capacity in half.
    Conley told board members she would not change school’s plan without the principal in agreement. Under the state’s Plan A, masks would still be required and screening procedures would still need to be followed.
    In addition, Cherokee County Schools is estimated to receive $3.5 million from the federal government to assist in reopening safely under N.C. Senate Bill 36, which passed Feb. 4. Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Hass said the district was excited to begin planning for use of the funds.
    “We will be asked to write an application for the use of the funding that will be approved by the state prior to the release of the funding, which we expect to be later in the spring, barring any changes to the state reserve funding,” Hass said.