School administrators grapple with quarantine policies

One positive coronavirus test could potentially lead to entire classrooms being quarantined when schools reopen on Aug. 26, according to Libby Public School District administrators.

For parents, this remains a chilling possibility.

“What happens if you suspect a student is sick?” Kira Basham, the parent of a high school student, asked Libby Public School Board members during an Aug. 10 meeting. “Are they going to have to miss 14 days of school?”

Superintendent Ron Goodman said that while quarantines could last two weeks, the missed days would not be held against students.

Jim Germany, assistant principal of Libby Middle High School, added that self-isolating students would be provided with a robust remote curriculum. Between Google classrooms and Zoom meetings, Germany sought to assure parents that their children would receive more instruction from teachers than in the spring.

Germany and Goodman have seen for themselves how quickly a single positive coronavirus test can alter schedules. They, along with nearly 10 other district employees, were self-isolating after a school employee tested positive for the virus, according to Goodman. As long as they remained free of symptoms related to COVID-19, the isolation period for each staff member ended on Aug. 20, less than a week before schools reopen.

Ellen Johnston, school board chair, clarified that it was the county health department and not the school board that set the two-week timeline for the quarantines.

According to Jacob Francom, superintendent of Troy Public Schools, the department may request quarantining for any student or teacher who spends more than 15 minutes within six feet of a person who tests positive for the virus.

If a child shows symptoms of COVID-19 but cannot get tested, Troy parents are asked in the district’s pandemic operational outline to keep them at home for 14 days.

To mitigate potential spread of the virus, nurses or trained professionals will be available at Troy schools to take student’s temperatures. Any student exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms will be isolated in a health room. Parents will be asked to pick them up from there. Before being allowed back into schools, isolated students must be cleared by a school health professional or county health official, under the district’s plans.

Francom said a few Troy maintenance employees have had to self-isolate after working with an out-of-county contractor who tested positive for the virus. Francom said the incident resulted in a minor delay in maintenance work.

Despite policies set by school district and health department officials, administrators have said they may have to adapt to potential quarantine scenarios as they crop up. For example, what would happen if a significant portion of the teaching staff were required to isolate, Germany wondered aloud at the Aug. 10 Libby school board meeting.

“Boy, there’s just a whole bunch of questions and not a lot of answers in that but we’re dealing with that week to week,” he said.