On Aug. 5, Whitehall-Coplay School Board voted 5-4 in favor of a traditional five-day-a-week return to school for the 2020-21 school year. Votes for a blended model for all schools, as well as a blended model for Whitehall High School and Whitehall-Coplay Middle School and a traditional approach for Gockley, Steckel and Zephyr elementary schools, did not pass.

Antoinette Guedes, a Whitehall-Coplay School District parent, is against the decision and created a petition on Change.org, urging the WCSB to reconsider the hybrid model or allow administration to send a new questionnaire to parents that includes that hybrid model as a choice. Guedes’ petition asks the board to address the public with their reasons for going against the advice of school administration, the teachers association and survey responses from parents.

Guedes said school board members William Fonzone Sr., Patty Gaugler, Nichole Hartman, George Makhoul and Joseph Shields, who voted for the traditional option, are elected officials and need to offer the public an explanation for decisions made that she said “directly and indirectly affect the health and safety of the community.”

The petition continues by asking for answers to questions, such as whether the board can ensure all WCSD staff have enough PPE, if masks would be provided in the event a student forgets or loses theirs, what the protocol is if a student is unable to wear a mask and if the district’s cleaning products are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved. Guedes requested the board present a report showing there will be enough ventilation for each building and answers as to how WHS can accommodate 215 additional students after Lehigh Career & Technical Institute opted for a hybrid model.

Guedes requested the board provide taxpayers with a cost analysis for added expenses created by a full return to school, such as extra staff, PPE, cleaning supplies, fees per student for the Whitehall-Coplay Virtual Learning Program and other additional costs and would like to see it compared to the cost of the hybrid and home-learning models.

Guedes asked school administrators to send a new survey to district parents with four options, including the hybrid model. The previous survey gave parents choices of a five-day-a week traditional model, a learn-from-home approach and Whitehall-Coplay Virtual Learning Program.

“We request the presentations from all building administrations to be made publicly accessible and hyperlinked within the survey. We request this accessibility to allow the parents to make an educated and informed decision based on the facts provided. We request this action be taken, analyzed and publicly posted to the school district’s website by Aug. 17. This date aligns with the district’s deadline for parents to confirm their choices,” Guedes said.

Guedes is asking board President Wayne Grim to call a special meeting that would allow the board to put a motion on the floor for a new vote on the reopening plan based on new survey responses. She said parents and board members were forced to make a decision without having all of the facts and that the questionnaire sent to parents included the hybrid option as a “what if scenario,” rather than including it as an actual choice.

“Given the responses and outrage of the community, I feel it would only be fair to allow the parents to make an educated and informed decision based on all of the facts presented,” Guedes said.

Guedes said she has seen other districts present clear and factual reopening plans for parents before they were asked to make a decision, and she wants WCSD parents to have the same opportunity. Guedes feels that not being given information up front before parents were asked to choose a model invalidates the initial questionnaire.

In an email to the board, Guedes told members she acknowledges the decision is both difficult and emotional and that her petition is not a personal attack on members or administration. Despite her own opinion, she said the petition is not intended to sway a vote in either direction but rather to act as a voice for district parents who feel they were not heard. She said she believes the board and administration are legally and ethically obligated to issue a new survey and vote on those results.

“I ask that the board votes with the highest ethical standards they swore an oath to and to leave any personal opinions or needs aside. You are elected to be the voice for this district, and we ask that you do that,” Guedes said.

Community members posted comments on the petition page. Others emailed Guedes personally.

Nicole Morber stated, “I do not understand how the board can vote against the recommendations of the WCSD superintendent, school administrators and teachers without adequate procedures, policies and resources to ensure the safety of all the children.”

“I am appalled that the five elected school board members voted against the administration’s, principals’ and teachers’ recommendations to follow a safe reopening plan of a hybrid model that showed unity to keep our children safe,” LoriAnn Fehnel, a WCSD parent who herself had COVID-19, said.

“Their decisions do not reflect the survey results nor the input of the superintendent, teachers and administrators, who are entrusted with the well-being of our students and clearly stated they cannot keep students safe in the traditional model at this time,” Jacqueline Oliver, a WCSD parent and teacher at a neighboring district, said.

Oliver said she feels safe returning to teach at her place of employment because her district has a plan in place following CDC guidelines. She also called the virtual school board meetings via Zoom a “double standard,” since the students are returning in person. Oliver said while she wants things to return to normal, she believes that won’t be the case anytime soon, and she wants answers from board members as to the reasons for their votes.

On the opposite end of the debate, WCSD parent Allison Schultz said she fully agrees with the board’s decision and was surprised there was so much emphasis on the hybrid approach when she believed the goal had always been to have a full return to school.

“The various reasons given as to why a hybrid model would be vastly more beneficial were inconsistent with rational thought,” Schultz said.

Schultz argues that with the hybrid model, most children will spend their off days from school in day care, which would actually increase exposure, as younger children are less likely to social distance or follow proper hygiene protocols. Schultz also stated exposure to staff would not be reduced but spread out over the course of the week.

“Fortunately, the risk of serious illness or death in a child contracting COVID-19 is actually less than it is for influenza,” Schultz said.

Schultz believes a traditional model of school can be achieved safely if teachers and staff “practice adequate hygiene and preventive techniques” to lower their risk of infection. She said teachers and staff worried about their safety should be concerned each year when flu season begins.

“The data stating 33 percent of the staff felt they would consider themselves to be high risk is rather difficult to believe,” Schultz said. “Perhaps staff that have reason to be worried about their safety should not be in a profession where they are continuously exposed to any number of infectious diseases.”

According to Schultz, the hybrid option would also be a great financial hardship on district families and make it close to impossible for parents to work in order to provide their families with basic necessities. She is concerned this will hurt families who are already struggling financially, such as single-parent households.

Schultz also stated the hybrid model reduces the quality of education students will receive, and families with multiple children in school will have logistical issues, such as siblings livestreaming different classes at the same time. She also said there are many district families with multiple children living in small spaces, and the hybrid model will put them at a greater disadvantage.

Guedes’ petition is viewable at change.org/Whitehall-CoplaySB-HearOurVoices.

A special WCSB meeting will be held via Zoom 5 p.m. Aug. 13 to discuss the updated sports plan for the 2020-21 school year. At this time, it is unclear whether a new vote on the return to school plan will be brought to the floor.