Sun Staff
School Board member Tonya Freeman didn’t want to made the decision.
All things being equal, the noted sports fan would rather be cheering on her Pioneers on the fields or courtside. She explained that she wants students to have the full school experience. She yearns for the same return to normalcy that the parents and students who wrote letters and gathered outside the school’s central office on Thurday have petitoned for.
But she said the board has to rely on expert advice.
“If we are going to close schools because of weather, we have to listen to VDOT,” Freeman said.
Essentially, Freeman said, the School board is being “asked to choose between two evils – go against the desires of students … or go against public health officials.”
It was a Catch-22 that others on the board found themselves struggling with, too, on Thursday.
Board Chairman Chalmer Frye leaned on his 51 years in the education field, saying his heart and soul want to see students in school and sports being played on a regular schedule.
“Can we do that right now?” he asked. “In my opinion, no.”
Stephen Sage had a slightly different metaphor than Freeman, but ended the same way.
“If I have problems with my car, I go to a mechanic. If he says I need a new batthery, I get a new battery. … I’m not going to my mechanic about what I need to do with my chest problem,” Sage said.
On matters of public health, Sage argued, it’s hard not to rely on the advice of medical professionals.
“That’s why I will vote the way I vote today,” he said.
Sage and five others on the six-member School board voted that way – affirming the Dec. 3 decision to return to 100% virtual learning.
Superintendent Scott Jefferies swiched Wythe County schools from in-person to virtual classes on Monday, citing an uptick in coronavirus cases and a recommendation from the Mount Rogers Health District. The health district had earlier announced it could no longer provide contact tracing due to what was described as an astronomical increase in COVID-19 cases.
“We hate to have to ask our schools to close because people will not take the necessary steps to stop disease transmission,” Dr. Karen Shelton, director of the Mount Rogers Health Distict, said.
Of the eight school districts in the Mount Rogers district, six followed Wythe County’s lead in shuttering schools. Grayson County voted to remain open and Bristol, Virginia, bucked the district’s advice on a 3-2 decision.
In Wythe County, the decision to return to all-virual learning was 6-1 with Don Goode being the “no” vote. The board unaimously approved a plan to revisit options during a special-called Jan. 4, 2021 meeting at 10 a.m.
Goode, the father of a senior at George Wythe High School and a seventh-grader at Scott Memorial Middle School, said he changed his mind after more carefully digging into the data, admitting that his initial reaction to the health district’s recommendation was a knee-jerk one based on images of makeshift morgues and reports of runaway infection numbers.
Goode said he wants to look at what other school systems are doing to remain in-person and on the field and questioned whether there was an end to virtual learning in sight.
“When does it end? … If we wait till January – winter sports is over.”
Freeman asked if there was a cutoff point when a winter season would no longer be viable.
Jefferies said that some districts have postponed the season until after the first of the year, adding that there are options – such as hosting a local season – that could be explored.
Freeman said there needs to be a better plan.
“I don’t know what that plan is,” she said. “Dr. Jefferies, that’s why we hired you.”
Jefferies, who pointed out that his doctoral dissertation was on the Virginia High School League – the state’s governing body for public high school sports, admitted it was a tough position to be in. The schools, though have to rely on experts.
“When they encourage us to shut down,” Jefferie said, “I’m going to listen to the experts.”
Prior to the board discussion and vote, Jefferies read nearly an hour and a half of public comment, all it favoring a return to in-person learning and the field of play. Parents, teaches and students pleaded for the board to reverse the Dec. 3 decision and open a path for extracurricular activities.
Some students, like Sidney Underwood of Fort Chiswell, wrote that learning online was a struggle and they found themselves putting off work. Parents argued that there should be an opportunity for them to decide what risks they are comfortable with, and coaches, like Tony Dunford, who helms the George Wythe basketball team lamented the lost opportunities for players relying on a strong senior season to attract college offers.
Gabby Bailey, who recently transferred her three kids from Bland schools to Wythe schools, describes the struggle her fifth-grader had with virtual learning, saying she watched his confidence fall during online school. She said he cried when he heard of the decision to return to virtual learning.
Bailey’s experience was echoed by Matt Temple, who is a parent of four Wythe County students, an assistant wrestling coach at George Wythe and a bus driver. He said that many of the students on his bus were in tears Friday knowing that school had been taken from them.
Temple pointed out, too, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention favors in-person instruction, saying it is the safest place for students.
