Butler Area School District staff and administrators have not changed their Health and Safety Plan but they are adjusting some components.
Superintendent Dr. Brian White pointed to direction from the firm handling the district’s solicitor responsibilities, Dillon McCandless King Coulter and Graham as factoring into the decision to continue with no mask wearing requirement.
However, based on the latest recommendations from the medical community, the wearing of masks will be recommended. The district has purchased thousands of masks using federal COVID relief money that will be made available to students and staff upon request. Mask wearing will be required while on buses and in the nurse’s offices of each district facility.
“Bottom line is, we’re being encouraged at this point to find ways to keep our schools open and find ways to do additional cleaning and ventilation,” White said.
The state departments of health and education continue to come out with new guidance such as rules for quarantining that will be utilized but White anticipates staffing being a more pressing concern.
“We’re operating on very thin staffing margins. If we have an outbreak, or illness, or very close contacts and we’re forced to have people stay at home because of state guidelines, we’re going to struggle to remain operational at some of our days. There’s just no way around it.”
Windows will be kept open as much as possible in facilities without air conditioning and Butler’s cyber academy continues to be available to those who would like to learn remotely.
