Correspondent
TROY — The Troy School Board met on Aug. 11. After opening the meeting, the board had to break to another room for an executive session.
Upon returning, the board asked Superintendent Dr. Eric Stair for his district report. Dr. Stair reported that faculty and staff had started receiving training in the CAOLA online learning system and will soon be receiving COVID health training online.
Dr. Stair wished to thank all the students that had so far responded to the district student survey. Of the 885 responses, Dr. Stair reported 81% of students were looking forward to in-person school, 18% were potentially pursuing online learning, and 1% were interested in homeschool. Students in the district who did not yet complete the survey are encouraged to do so.
Also on the docket was approving a one-year contract with McClure Company for preventative maintenance from Sept. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31 of 2021. The contract was approved. The board also approved a contract for a building-based teacher through ESS for the 2020/2021 school year.
The most consequential vote, however, was yet to come. As per state mandate, the district had created a Health and Safety Plan so that they could reopen the school for the fall semester. Failure to approve the plan would prevent that reopening.
Dr. Stair opened discussion on the plan by reminding the board the plan was “a living, breathing document” open to change as the need arises through the year.
He mentioned the mask requirement and a three-strike system to enforce the mandate, saying the plan was made in accordance with guidelines from the State Education and Health Departments.
Board member Heather Bohner, who was on the committee to draft the plan, said it was “a good plan” and was aware many in the community were pushing for its passage and the resulting school reopening and would like them to know “I saw dozens of people in the parking lot across the street [There was a car show going on in the bank parking lot at the time] and not one of them was wearing a mask.”
She asked that the community “start living it” and “don’t make me regret voting yes.”
The longest address was from Board member Darren Roy, who brought up several points working against the passage of the Plan.
Roy recounted that a number of their faculty and bus drivers are in age groups that are at higher risk of complications due to COVID and that “we live in a community where many people don’t even believe in the disease.” Roy also claimed that he’d spoken with many teachers who said they were scared of returning to in-class teaching but many conceded that in-school teaching was probably the right thing to do.
Roy conceded that while the proposed Plan was a good one, he had serious doubts regarding the district’s ability to continually enforce it through a semester or school year.
After a very tense roll call with one board member not present thus leaving a tie vote a real possibility, the plan passed with a 5-3 vote.
The meeting ended at 8:30.