In August, Camp Verde Unified School District became the first school district in the Verde Valley to return to in-person learning after schools statewide were forced to initially open for remote learning.
On Dec. 4, the superintendent was the first to close in- person learning due to a spike in coronavirus cases which created too many staff absences to keep the schools open.
At a meeting on Dec. 22, the CVUSD Governing Board voted 3-2 to make it the first district in the Verde Valley to return to in-person learning after winter break, planning to return on Monday, Jan. 4, just like it would in a normal school year.
Board members Helen Freeman and Eric Lawton were the two dissenting votes, preferring to wait at least a week to return like other districts in the area.
While the closure in early December was made by Danny Howe in his authority as superintendent, the deci- sion on re-opening required board approval.
The board consulted with Yavapai County Community Health Services Director Leslie Horton during the meeting.
While Horton has repeatedly urged vigilance during the pandemic and increased efforts to stop the spread of the virus, she nevertheless made the case that in-person schooling is the best option for childhood development and should be encouraged to the extent safely possible. She pointed to high rates of addiction and suicide among youth in the county as a reason to care about children’s mental health in addition to the pandemic.
“The safest place kids need to be is in school,” Howe said. He argued that despite the issues that the district had recently with staffing, they were prepared to hire additional staff in order to keep things running.
“We’ve got some people who say that they’ll volunteer to come in, who will cover if we get hit again,” Howe said.
The district’s hybrid-learning model will operate the same as it did before the closure in December, with the option of online learning for families that do not feel comfortable sending their children to school.
Eric Lawton declined to comment.
Freeman cited a plan presented by teachers for a delayed start on Jan. 11, and argued that the district should have listened to them.
“Parents can choose whether they send their kids to school, but the teachers can’t choose,” Freeman said. “If we could support teachers by following this plan that they put together, then we should do it.”
Other districts in the area made the choice to return next week in hopes of not having to face a spike in coronavirus cases after the Christmas holidays. Coronavirus cases in the Verde Valley had their biggest increase of the year right after Thanksgiving, and some districts are seeking to stop that increase from spreading throughout the schools by waiting a week.
Howe argued that the extra week likely would not make a real difference for the school. He pointed to the week in between Christmas and New Years, when the district is off anyway, as a buffer.
“The bottom line is, it hasn’t gone away in two months,” Howe said of the virus. “What makes them think another week is going to do it?”
Freeman also expressed worry that the school district is not meeting its stated goals of mask-wearing and other coronavirus precautions, leading to her concern about reopening on Thursday.
“I get that kids should be in school, but kids should be in schools because schools are safe,” Freeman said.
