Kennewick middle and high schools to stay closed until 2021

Kennewick middle and high school students won’t be going back to school until February.

In a 3-2 vote Wednesday night, the school board decided to push back the start of classes another three months to Feb. 2.

Elementary students returned to partial in-person classes this week but middle and high schoolers were to start back on Nov. 2.

The delay came after Benton Franklin Health District’s Dr. Amy Person recommended opening secondary schools again as long as they followed safety procedures. One of those procedures was to keep students together in small groups..

That was one of the main issues for the proponents of the delay — board member Diane Sundvik and board President Dawn Adams.

While Superintendent Traci Pierce said it may be possible to cut down the number of classes per day, and keep students from moving around as much, that created other issues.

Pierce explained she asked Dr. Person about whether her opinion would change even if they couldn’t keep the students in small groups, and she was told the recommendation wouldn’t change.

While the superintendent said her staff was doing the best they could in the situation, people are saying that distance learning is not working for many students.

“I know that we have kids that are failing,” she said. “This is not working from an educational standpoint. Our teachers are making heroic efforts, but many people are sharing that it is not working.”

Adams and Sundvik raised concerns about parents, teachers and administrators who have facilitated student parties. Sundvik had heard about dozens of students attending them.

Adams didn’t believe they could be trusted to take the disease seriously.

“There is a blatant disregard for a virus that is horrible,” said Adams, who is recovering from COVID. “We’re seeing this even before we open up the schools.”

Opposed to delay

However, board members Heather Kintzley and Mike Connors opposed the delay.

Kintzley pointed out that they should rely on the expert rather than put themselves into the role of experts. Since Dr. Person’s opinion hadn’t changed, she was inclined to follow it.

Connors, who has been opposed to keeping schools online since the initial vote, said he has seen his own children suffering from distance learning.

He has reached out to doctors, and read the guidance from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is convinced that children are safer in school than out of it.

“Their grades are way worse than they’ve ever been,” he said. “We have to think beyond protecting them from a virus.”

The deciding vote came from board member Ron Mabry, who did not give a reason for his decision.

Plans for elementary school classes have not changed.

17 COVID cases

The Kennewick School District, which has 19,000 students, says 15 employees and 2 students have reported testing positive for COVID-19 since the end of August.

Ten of the cases were at the middle and high school levels.

COVID-19 data reported includes enrolled students and staff who are physically present in a building or on school grounds in any capacity, including in-person learning, hybrid learning, etc., said the district website.

The second case of an ill student was reported Thursday at Vista Elementary School.

Kennewick is the only district to publicly list how many staff members have gotten ill and where they work. Officials say they follow thorough cleaning protocols after someone tests positive.

Pasco and Richland school districts have not decided when most of their students will return to in-person learning.

This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 8:18 PM.