Beaufort County schools move start date to Sept. 8, announce reopening plan
Beaufort County School District will move its fall start date to Sept. 8, school board members decided Wednesday night — and while the district plans to offer both virtual and in-person learning options, it’s possible that all students will be online-only to begin the year.
The district will release its full fall reopening plan to the public on Friday, the same day it’s due to the state Department of Education. In the meantime, students can register for one of two school options: online-only, or a Monday through Friday in-person schedule.
If individual schools have too many in-person students to maintain social distancing, the school’s in-person option will become a hybrid model. Students would report to campus two days per week in two separate groups, with an off-day reserved for sanitizing the campus.
The school board voted unanimously to revise the school calendar to start the year on Sept. 8, in line with S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s newest recommendations for school districts. The board did not take any votes on the district’s reopening plan.
Superintendent Frank Rodriguez told board members that the district would “regularly and continuously” evaluate the impact of coronavirus on safety, and could begin the school year online as a result.
“I cannot in good conscience commit to a reopening plan that would knowingly put anyone in harm’s way,” Rodriguez wrote in an Wednesday night email to parents. “If COVID-19 conditions continue to worsen, it’s entirely possible that we could start the year with all students learning virtually.”
Beaufort County is currently considered “high-risk” for the spread of coronavirus by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control. As of Wednesday the county has 2,171 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and could have as many as 13,336 undiagnosed cases, DHEC officials say.
When in-person classes begin, everyone on campus will be required to wear a mask, and each school will share with parents its protocols for entering buildings — such as staggered start and dismissal times to maintain social distancing.
Classrooms will be socially distanced, and school buses will run at 50% capacity and be sanitized between routes. Students will eat breakfast and lunch in their classrooms.
The district will not test students for coronavirus or conduct temperature checks. Rodriguez said the district will notify parents “if there’s any risk for exposure” to a coronavirus case.
Rodriguez said the district will follow DHEC guidelines to manage suspected and confirmed cases of coronavirus, which are outlined on the agency’s website:
Anyone with coronavirus symptoms should test negative for coronavirus before returning to school.
Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus or exhibits symptoms and does not get tested will be isolated until 10 days have passed since their symptoms began, their fever has been gone for 72 hours and their symptoms have improved.
Others in close contact (within six feet for 15 minutes or more) to a contagious coronavirus case must isolate for 14 days.
Students and teachers in classrooms with a known coronavirus case should be screened for symptoms daily for 14 days.
Several teachers asked for online-only classes during the board’s public comment session, citing health concerns and the growing number of coronavirus cases in the county.
Two teachers said they were afraid for the health of their 1-year-old children, while another said she had quarantined twice since March due to her husband’s job, and that she — and the children in her classrooms — would have had to do the same if they were in schools.
Rodriguez said the district would address childcare for employees next week.
“I think teachers are scared,” Bluffton High School teacher Lisa Sumner said. “And they may not be saying it, because teachers are so used to putting their own needs at the back of the burner. But I can tell you right now that I am hearing from a lot of teachers that are scared.”