LEE COUNTY, FL. — With the 20-21 school year quickly approaching, the School District of Lee County is taking steps to keep students and staff members safe.
While the district hopes to fully reopen in August, a reopening task force — appointed by Superintendent Dr. Greg Adkins — is assisting with recommendations on how to do so safely.
"They'll be looking at the most effective use of the space that we have on campus, if social distancing is needed to be in place, how many students in a classroom, do we use the cafeteria, what about playgrounds in elementary schools, they'll be looking at transportation," said Rob Spicker.
Spicker is the Assistant Director of Media Relations and Public Information for the School District of Lee County.
"Do we need to be checking temperatures, do we need to be requiring masks, do we need to limit visitors, these are the kinds of questions that will come before the task force, and they'll look for answers to make recommendations," said Spicker.
The reopening task force is also assisting with alternative scenarios if a full reopening is not possible.
"Which is staying virtual, a combination of virtual and in-person, or a return to school with some safety measurements in place," said Spicker.
The PreK-12 Education Pandemic Response Task Force force met for the first time this week.
"What's going to come out of this advisory team task force is going to be not from one single individual but rather from a single team," said Betsy Vaughn during Thursday's meeting.
Vaughn is a school board member with the School District of Lee County and the liaison of the task force.
The advisory committee consists of school board members, health professionals, principals, parents, students, and law enforcement.
"The Teachers Association of Lee County president is on the committee, and he's going to be bringing more teachers with him to future meetings so that their voices are included because they're going to be dealing with the frontline once students are in class," said Spicker.
The reopening task force is following four guiding principles; this includes public health safety and ensuring public confidence.
"Public health and safety is really the driving force here to make sure that our families feel comfortable sending their students to school but also our staff, are they comfortable, do they feel safe and protected," said Spicker.
Other principles include fiscal responsibility and making sure all students in Lee County have access to an equitable education.
"Looking at how do we implement this across the district so that a child a Cape Coral is experiencing the same thing as a child in Lehigh Acres and Bonita Springs," said Spicker.
The district is also looking at making sure students have access to all the equipment that they need, and that students with special needs are getting the services that they need.
The school district says it'll need to still follow CDC-guidelines once the recommendations from the task force are made.
"We don't have a lot of time, I can't see us going past mid to late July without knowing what to anticipate," said Spicker.
The task force committee will meet throughout the summer, and those meetings will be recorded and placed online.
"Public confidence is what this task force is all about, it's listening to the community, it's getting input so that we can provide answers and nobody feels like their thoughts were left out," said Spicker.
An email address dedicated to the Task Force has also been established.
Parents can write to ReopeningSchools@leeschools.net with their questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions.
Earlier this week, the School District of Lee County also sent out surveys seeking Parent, Student, and teacher input on how to safely reopen.
The district says more than 21,000 people have taken the survey, and encourage those who haven't to do so.
Link to School District of Lee County survey, here.
Link to first reopening task force meeting, here.
