Lewiston School Board reviews COVID-19 protocols

The Lewiston School Board reviewed the district’s procedures for when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 at its Monday night meeting.

Kimberley Eimers, the director of student services, said the district has established a flow chart of sorts that helps outline what steps the district and the Public Health – Idaho North Central District take if a person is suspected of having the illness.

“It’s been working better and better as we unfortunately go through this,” Eimers said. “We hope we never become experts in it.”

Since the start of the school year, the district has gone through two notification processes after someone tested positive for COVID-19 within the district. That included one staff member and one student.

School board member Brad Cuddy said both of the letters sent out to families in the district included as much information as possible while respecting privacy laws.

“I’m glad it went out to all parents,” Cuddy said. “I think the district is doing an excellent job of being transparent.”

Assistant Superintendent Lance Hansen said the district is working to install plexiglass dividers within all of its classrooms that use tables instead of desks. The dividers have been installed in both of the middle schools, and work continues to get the dividers into the high school and elementary schools.

The district has made customized plexiglass dividers as it awaits the order of 5,000 dividers that can be used at desks.

Administrators said students have done a good job wearing masks while inside of the buildings. Students are required to wear face coverings when entering or exiting a school, during transition times and in common areas. Face coverings are strongly encouraged for students in indoor instructional settings when physical distancing is not possible.

The high school has gone through an average of 300 disposable masks a day. The district has a stockpile of masks so that it can give them out to students who need them.

Cuddy encouraged students in the district to continually wear face coverings while in the buildings, so the schools can remain open in the “green phase,” which offers traditional face-to-face learning for all students in the district.

“So far, it’s going very well, but I worry there could be some complacency as comfort levels rise,” Cuddy said. “I want so badly for us to be able to stay in school and also if we do have a couple of cases, it would be great if we could minimize that impact on other kids and staff. ... If you believe in them or don’t believe in them, you’ll have a lot better chance of keeping your kid in school if they are wearing a mask.”

The flow chart will be posted on the district’s website at a later date once it is finalized.

In other news:

The school board approved a 90-day rental agreement with Victory in Jesus Fellowship for a small cafeteria area at the old Lewiston High on Normal Hill. The small congregation plans to use the space on Sunday for fellowship and on Monday for Bible study.

Hansen said the district has received interest from other parties to rent spaces at the old high school.

School board members said they wanted to adjust the fee structure for rentals at a future meeting.

The school board reviewed an audit report for the 2019-20 year. School board member Staci Baldwin said the district received a “clear opinion.”

Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.