In-class school stymied by costs, staffing, risks

Dec. 27—Reopening schools in the middle of a pandemic was never going to easy.

Some bought desk shields because they could not easily accommodate social distancing guidelines. Others adopted hybrid models to keep capacity low. Still others went to fully remote learning.

Public schools across the region received federal funding because of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. However, nearly every school district had to supplement that with previously budgeted funds to provide for students.

Or, they went without.

As the pandemic continues to rage on, the threat of spreading the virus, costs of accommodations, and staffing remain the biggest hurdles to returning to school full time.

At a late December School Committee meeting Andover parents video conferenced in, pleading to get their children back into school. Tara Dunham, a parent and licensed mental health counselor, spoke about an increase in anxiety and depression in children she sees at her office.

"I've read and understand what the Andover district perceives as barriers and I acknowledge that. But as a frontline worker in the mental health crisis, my professional oath is to continue to find a way to improve the situation for these children." Dunham said.

"And as a parent, I have to believe there's more we can do as administrators and School Committee members and parents working together," she continued. "I understand obstacles may seem impossible to work around, but we have seen other districts bring back the youngest learners through innovative methods."

Minutes later, Andover High School teacher Holly Breen sent an email asking that school stay remote before winter break because "students have emailed about their concerns about coming back into the building and being exposed. Staff is also very concerned."

As in Andover, so many opinions and conflicting desires are the norm around the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire.

The cost of being in class

Salem, New Hampshire, is the only public school district in the region where students attend five days a week.

In both states individual school districts are in charge of implementing their own plans, however, the mandates for bringing back students are less stringent in the Granite State than the Bay state, where the Department of Education had to approve each district's plan.

Salem spent $1.46 million to get students back into class full time, according to records.

The town received $415,583 through the CARES Act and an additional $83,462 in grants. However, Salem used $962,162 of its own funds, too.

"We felt very strongly about getting kids back into school," said Deborah Payne, assistant superintendent for business operations. "We have gone to a great extent to make that happen."

In order to allow 3,600 students back, the district bought three-sided acrylic shields for every desk and cafeteria seat. That was one of the largest expenses, totaling $376,000, according to district records.

"What is significant is every student and adult who have been identified as close contacts has not developed symptoms or tested positive," Superintendent Michael Delahanty said.

The School District has three criteria to stay with in-person learning: staff capacity, high student attendance rates and no in-school transmission, Delahanty said.

"Things have been working incredibly well, especially with the staff and administration coming in every day," Delahanty said. "The staff has provided as normal an experience as possible for students."

As cases rose right before Thanksgiving, everyone at the middle and high schools started wearing masks while sitting behind the shields, Delahanty said. And when the region saw an increase in cases, the schools did not, he added.

Other districts reported personal protective gear, extra staffing and technology as their largest expenses.

Windham School District has had to reopen with much less money than Salem. The district received $29,315 from the federal government and has used $129,882 from its current operating budget drafted before COVID-19 hit, according to records from the district.

Districts around the country were granted part of the $13.2 billion earmarked for schools from the federal CARES Act funds based on the number of low-income students.

Lawrence Public Schools received $6.4 million from the federal government, which allowed the district to supply every one of the roughly 13,700 students with their own laptops, explained Christopher Markuns, spokesperson for Lawrence Public Schools.

In the spring when schools shuttered and switched to online learning the district had only one laptop for every family, he said.

Technology such as laptops and internet hot spots were among the top costs for the district related to the pandemic, along with protective equipment, cleaning supplies and overtime for custodians, Markuns said.

Currently, Lawrence students remain remote and getting high-needs students back is the priority, Markuns said.

No matter what kind of learning students are doing now, everyone from administrators, teachers, parents to students are looking forward to the days where school can return to normal with in-class group projects and sharing supplies.

To help get to that teachers have been prioritized for the vaccine in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and will start being inoculated early next year.

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