PUSD Board Votes to Keep Schools Online Only At Start of Year

It’s now official – the Pasadena Unified School District will not open its school doors to students next month when classes resume, but instead will start the academic year on Aug. 17 with an online-only curriculum as a safeguard against the surging coronavirus.

But the PUSD board on Thursday also approved that staff be given the flexibility to eventually switch to some kind of in-person learning — likely in a hybrid, online/in-person form — if and when health conditions allow.

By a unanimous vote, the board approved the plan – agreeing with a recommendation from Superintendent Brian McDonald, who had said in a letter earlier this week, “We cannot and will not take chances with the health and safety of our students and staff.’’

According to a PUSD staff report, “The health and safety of all in our school community is at the forefront of our decisions when planning for the opening of schools. Due to the increase in (COVID) cases, the staff recommends the Pasadena Unified School District begin school on Aug. 17, 2020, in a remote setting serving children through a high-quality distance learning model.’’

The board’s vote also gave staff the flexibility to switch gears later in the academic year.

“At this time, PUSD staff is proposing two models of instruction for the 2020-21 school year: hybrid (combination of in-person and distance learning) and online (full-time distance learning),’’ the staff report said.

“It is proposed that both models are approved and staff is given the flexibility to decide when it is appropriate for each model to be in operation. At the start of the 20-21 school year, both models will operate in a remote setting. A phased timeline for any transitions back to a full in-person or the hybrid model will be communicated to the community in advance.’’

That was the plan OK’d by the board on Thursday.

The vote was technically 4-0-1, with board member Elizabeth Pomeroy participating but unable to vote due to technical problems during the teleconference meeting. Board members Kimberly Kenne and Roy Boulghourjian were absent for the meeting.

The PUSD operated under a distance-learning plan to close the 2019-2020 academic year, closing schools’ doors after the pandemic hit in March and stay-at-home orders were issued by Pasadena and the state.

Thursday’s move put the PUSD in line with other school districts in the area – most prominently, the LAUSD, the nation’s second-largest school district, which announced its online-only plans to start the school year on Monday.

San Diego, the state’s second-biggest system, did likewise – as has, more locally, Long Beach and San Bernardino, among larger districts.

The PUSD board’s action also came on a day when it was learned that 90 percent of teachers polled by the United Teachers Union agreed it would not be safe for students, teachers or staff if schools physically reopened to start the school year – a conclusion previously reached by the UTP’s executive board and bargaining team.

“Educators and children must teach and learn in conditions that are safe and healthy,” UTP President Allison Steppes said in a prepared statement. “The health and safety of our students and staff must take precedence when considering the physical reopening of school buildings.’’

On July 1, McDonald had announced he hoped the PUSD could reopen with some kind of hybrid program of online and in-person teaching. But since then, the skyrocketing number of COVID-19 cases in L.A. County as well as nationwide has forced the change of plans to online only to start the academic year.

“Conditions have changed,” McDonald said during Thursday’s board meeting.

McDonald has said he will continue to monitor the coronavirus situation, and that the district could quickly flex back to at least some kind of in-person learning if the COVID numbers take a turn for the better and health officials concur that such a plan would be safe.

“Our school reopening plan is designed to allow us to move seamlessly from a hybrid model to a full distance learning environment and back again as conditions change,” McDonald said.

While the county released school reopening guidelines on Monday, the county does not have the authority to close independent school districts such as the PUSD, except through a public-health order, which has not been issued, according to L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office.

The PUSD’s decision Thursday was hardly a surprise, given the latest troubling coronavirus numbers.

“The rate of those who have tested positive for the COVID-19 is approaching 10 percent in Los Angeles County, double the rate of 5 percent which is the level deemed safe by World Health Organization guidelines to reopen communities safely,’’ the PUSD staff report said.

PUSD Board President Patrick Cahalan said such numbers could not be ignored.

“I have been following the data in the last two weeks,’’ he said earlier this week. “The numbers nationwide, statewide and locally have all been going in the wrong direction.”

On Tuesday, the L.A. County Department of Health reported a single-day record of 4,244 new cases of COVID-19 in the county, along with 73 new deaths. Pasadena health officials reported 36 new COVID-19 infections and one new death on Tuesday. Pasadena’s death toll from the virus stood at 101.

Meanwhile, in a sign that the PUSD’s cautious path is warranted, on Thursday it was reported that 21 people – including 15 children — have been quarantined after two people from a city-run day camp in Pasadena’s Victory Park tested posted positive for the coronavirus.

The camp had been practicing strict anti-COVID protocols, according to city spokesperson Lisa Derderian.

“We [including other counties] are seeing an increase in community transmissions in a younger population where the virus can potentially spread into an outside setting such as this camp situation,” Derderian said.

“This was a smaller group setting, although it demonstrates that it only takes one person to spread the virus to others even with rigorous guidelines and undeviating conformity in place.”

When – and if – the PUSD switches to a hybrid model, incorporating at least some in-person learning, is a matter that will be closely monitored.

“PUSD staff is continuing to develop health and safety plans for the new school year aligned to the latest best practices and guidelines from the California Department of Education, Los Angeles County Office of Education, and the City of Pasadena Department of Public Health,’’ the staff report said.

“Our commitment to students and their families is to provide the best possible education – whether remotely or at school. Our ultimate goal is to construct a plan that will allow for the return to schools when health conditions permit a safe return to school campuses for our students, staff, and families.’’