Coronavirus

FRUSTRATION

BUCKHANNON -- Upshur County School board president Dr. Tammy Samples recessed Tuesday night's meeting "indefinitely" and board members left the Union Elementary School gym after parents began vocalizing their opposition to the board's considering extending remote learning through Jan. 11, 2021.

After board members left the room, meeting attendees continued to stand or sit in the gym conversing in small groups.

About 15 minutes later, an Upshur County Sheriff's deputy walked in the gym and board members re-entered.

Samples called the meeting back to order and the meeting continued with the board making no decision on pushing re-entry back to Jan. 11.

Prior to the meeting beginning, parents who said they want equal opportunity for their children to attend in-person school stood outside Union Elementary Tuesday with signs asking for an end to remote learning, as the Upshur County Board of Education met for the first time since voting to move to all remote learning through Jan. 4, 2021.

Several of those parents and a student urged board members during the meeting to reopen the schools to in-person instruction.

Shanna Collins said, "I am here to ask for in-person and equal opportunity education. Not allowing our children the option to attend school is unfair. I would like the option to send my children to school five days a week. I feel like parents should get to make the decision that is best for their families."

Collins said that making school available for four days a week for some and not others is unacceptable.

"Not giving opportunity to attend school is failing," she said. "We owe it to these children to find a better option."

Collins referenced a list of concerns including students falling behind, the mental health of families, access to internet and more.

"Work being turned in is not accurate for grading," she said. "Parents including myself are helping them get the right answer."

Collins suggested self-transport options when there are not enough bus drivers and having aides or others watch students when there are not enough substitutes.

"I hope you make the right choice and provide these students with in-person education," she said. "They need it. They really, really need it."

Leah Collins, a fifth-grader at Rock Cave Elementary, said, "I think our teachers are better at teaching us because they know just what to say and ask us to give us the proper education we need. I believe we should be able to go back to school."

Parent Brandon Weese expressed his frustration and also his concern for students who may be in danger at home.

"Our kids need school," he said. "We must still believe that some kids are better off in school than at home. Schools in Upshur County are the number one reporting agency for child protective services.

"There are kids in this county who are at home right now without water, electricity, heat and yes, even though we have the meal program, without food," he said. "We have no way of knowing what is going on because they have no safe outlet."

Weese cited the White House COVID Taskforce, CDC and others who do not recommend closing schools.

He also questioned how it was safe for students with IEP to attend school and not others.

"I would like to request an audit of the Upshur County School system and the board of education's handling of the budget," Weese said. "Where is the money going? The citizens want to know."

Weese ended his speech by saying, "I refuse to believe Walmart, Sheetz and other stores can stay open and we cannot find a solution for in-person learning."

Parent Michelle Zickefoose said she works full-time like other parents, leaving the evenings for schoolwork.

"Our kids' education is crammed into two hours," she said. "It's crammed into two hours for myself as a working parent and that is just not a quality education. I think our kids deserve better. The cohorts I don't think are working. I really don't agree with the option to close until the end of the year.

"I really think that in-person learning would benefit everybody. I know that teachers are working as hard as they can. It's not fair to anybody."

Following the parents who spoke, Dr. Jeff Harvey, director of emergency preparedness and safety, provided a new draft of the reentry plan which included the vote at the last meeting to move to in-person blended learning as of Jan. 4.

Board member Pat Long pointed to the surge after Thanksgiving and asked about staggering the start time to Jan. 11 from Jan. 4.

At that time, the crowd at the meeting began speaking out of turn and Samples tried to get control of the meeting.

Board vice president Katie Loudin said, "I have serious concerns about people being together over the holidays, over New Years and us coming back together on the Fourth."

Loudin said that extra week between Jan. 4 and Jan. 11 would show who had been impacted by family gatherings.

"It would give our principals and our hardworking staff the ability to access those numbers so we are not coming in off the new year with substitutes as baby sitters," she said. "I think it would give us a week and a good time to hopefully launch a successful blended semester on Jan. 11."

Long said, "I agree with Mrs. Loudin."

Board member Dr. Greenbrier Almond said, "I would take these remarks for people to actually do better, to stay at home, to keep a physical distance, wear a mask and do everything in their power, parents and grandparents so we can go back to school."

Loudin said she would like the opportunity to make the motion and call it for Jan. 11 so families who are asking for time to plan, and for administrators.

"This whiplash is doing damage to our families," she said. "Please know I have received a lot of contact from people who are not comfortable being within this room. Your opinion is not the only one in this community."

Loudin suggested a motion to continue remote learning until Jan. 11 except for students in special education or with 504 and SAT plans, as well as Fred Eberle students who need to complete a certain number of hours for their programs.

At that point, the parents in attendance began speaking out of turn and some voices became louder as some parents began moving forward in the room.

Sample said the meeting would be recessed indefinitely and the board members left the meeting.

When the board returned, Almond moved to accept the reentry plan effective Jan. 4, 2021, but the motion died due to a lack of a second.

The board allowed more comments from the public during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Brittany Westfall said, "I am angry for my child. My question to you is how can you look at my child and many other children in this room and tell them that their education doesn't matter as much as some of the other children's does. IEP students get to go multiple days a week. I'm OK with that. Teachers' kids get to be a school five days a week. They get to go. If they are in that school, they get to go to their teacher and learn with their teacher. They get to go to gym class and have gym with their friends."

But Westfall said her children do not along with the other parents in the room.

"As a parent that angers me," she said. " It angers me for my child. My child is suffering like you guys don't even have a clue. I'm a good parent. I try and I do my best for my children. I don't understand how a decision can be made that hurts so many other children."

Samples replied, "We are concerned. We have to see the entire picture. We have to see the employees, we have to see the community, we have to see the kids. Kids are always at the top of the list."

One by one, many others took a turn to speak and expressed frustration with the remote learning.

Ariel Guady said some parents had to quit their jobs to stay home with their kids and become their teachers when they are not qualified.

"I cannot teach my third-grader math," she said. "Do you know how ignorant that makes me feel as a parent? She is asking me for help and I cannot help her."

Guady said her other daughter is in sixth grade and is having that experience ripped away from her.

"You guys are setting our kids up for failure," she said. "We don't know what we are doing. No one knows what we are doing right now."

Guady said she was paying for a tutor, but not everyone can do that.

"We are fighting because we want our kids in school," she said. "We are the only voice our children have."

Jennifer Clem said she quit her job because she couldn't afford to put her children into daycare.

"I love my kids and they are my world," she said. "I can't be their teacher. I graduated high school 15 years ago and the way they are doing math and everything else, I can't explain it to her."

Clem said she tries to teach the way she learned math in school.

"All I am asking is to please think about this. How many times are we going to push it back? When does it ever stop? When we have zero cases? The only way to have zero cases is to stop testing."

Amanda Holley is the parent of two children and said one child was becoming depressed because of not seeing her friends.

"You all should be ashamed of yourself," she said. "Every county around us is going to school. They said don't follow Upshur County. We are the laughing stock of the state."

Holley said as of Tuesday night, her children were not doing any more school work this year.

"Give mom a break," she said, adding that she too struggles with the schoolwork. "We have to get back into the school system."

Todd Starkey said at the beginning of the school year, parents were given three options: homeschool, virtual school or send students to school.

"Me, I voted to send my children to school, but they are not going to school," he said. "We all signed up to send our kids to school."

One teacher and parent, Shanah Carpenter, also spoke at the meeting.

"We are shouting for help," she said. "We have been shouting for help. Please listen to us. I, as a teacher can't handle it. I, as a parent, can't handle it. My kids can't handle it."

During board member comments, Loudin said her own family had been impacted adversely by remote instruction.

"Ultimately, I have decided to put the needs of the system and everyone in that system ahead of my own family's needs. I have listened to teachers and staff who care for immunocompromised children and parents in their lives. We have seen early retirements and resignations from personnel who could not afford to take the risk themselves."

Loudin said the school system continues to struggle to find qualified personnel to keep schools operating effectively while community spread keeps triggering family and close-contact quarantines.

She said she loved her neighbors and community and wanted to protect them.

"Robots don't teach our children...human beings teach our children," she said. "They are my extended family and I will do what I can to keep them safe so they can do what they do best, teach and love our children."

She noted the state West Virginia Department of Education map would have had Upshur County as orange this week, meaning no in-person instruction.

Board member Kristi Wilkerson, who attended the meeting virtually along with Long, said she knew of four people who passed away from COVID-19.

"I cannot and I will not make a decision that can risk someone else's life," she said. "We have a number of different factors to consider and we just have to think about them all."

Wilkerson said she would err on the side of caution.

Samples ended the comments by discussing how difficult this year had been in education and said that in Upshur County, one person lost is one person too many.

"I was even told by someone that I don't care about kids," she said. "That nearly broke my heart because I do care about kids."

"It's not easy," she said. "None of us thought it was going to be easy but we are charged with making decisions for everyone. We have to look at the whole picture."

Samples said there would be no vote on a new re-entry date because it was not on the agenda.

The board of education does not have another regular meeting until Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. at Tennerton Elementary School.