Schools have been closed since March 13 and it is unlikely schools will open anytime before August because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board Director of Education Sean Monteith provided an update to the board during their virtual public board meeting on Monday night, highlighting a number of developments that have occurred since his last update two weeks ago.
Last week, the provincial government announced schools would be closed for the remainder of the year, and Monteith said this closure, the longest school closure in provincial history, will keep schools closed until at least August.
He said following a meeting with local medical officers of heath, as well as regional school board officials, senior staff are starting to work on a relaxed “Access to Facilities” protocol.
Monteith could not provide any details as to when this reentry strategy would take place or even look like.
He said there will eventually be a very controlled access protocol for staff and families to retrieve personal belongings.
Another noticeable change this year, mostly from the board’s perspective, is the fact they are not yet dealing with the 2020/21 budget.
Monteith says in a normal year, the Ministry of Education would have released the annual Grants for Student Needs and because they have not yet, school boards have been given an extension to August to complete and submit their annual budget to the Ministry.
He says without that information, they cannot submit or finalize a budget, meaning it is very likely board members will need to attend special meetings through the summer to set and finalize the board’s budget.
The director was also pleased to mention eight board employees have offered to be redeployed to work in local health care and long-term care sites as part of the Ontario Government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, allowing school board non-teaching/permanent and occasional teachers to work in sites that are short staffed.
Monteith reiterated the board’s priority is for the students, staff and families and the safety and health of families, the community and the most vulnerable, then education.
Senior staff and administration are planning for a start up and reentry in September and will continue unless the Ministry of Education otherwise notifies them of something different.
