At an Aug. 13 special Whitehall-Coplay School Board meeting, board member Tina Koren brought a motion to the floor for the district to adopt a blended model for the first marking period of the 2020-21 school year.

The board had voted Aug. 5 to return students for in-person instruction; however, recommendations from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to start the year with online or hybrid models prompted a reconsideration.

In response to requests from districts across the state seeking guidance on the best model to use for the start of the 2020-21 school year, Wolf announced the Departments of Health and Education would be following a chart using measurements from the White House Coronavirus Task Force to categorize counties based on their levels of transmission. Counties will be rated as low, moderate or high based on the number of cases per 100,000 people, or a percentage of positive cases during a seven-day period.

Lehigh County is currently considered moderate, with more than 10, but fewer than 100, cases per 100,000 people and has a positivity rate of more than 5, but less than 10, percent. In the moderate category, a hybrid or virtual model is recommended.

Other local districts adopting a blended model include East Penn, Parkland, Southern Lehigh, Salisbury, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern, Northampton Area and Nazareth Area school districts and Lehigh Career and Technical Institute.

Approximately 329 people viewed the board’s Aug. 13 meeting via Zoom.

Koren brought the motion to the floor, and William Leiner Jr. seconded it. The board voted 5-4 in favor of the blended model with Nichole Hartman, George Williams, Wayne Grim, Leiner and Koren for the plan and George Makhoul, Joseph Shields, William Fonzone Sr. and Patty Gaugler opposed.

In the new model, students whose families selected the traditional model will be placed in the blended format, and children of families who did not respond to the questionnaire will be automatically enrolled in blended learning.

The blended model will be in effect at least through the first marking period, ending Nov. 4.

Students will be divided into two groups by last name, or household name. They will be in school two days a week, have virtual synchronous and asynchronous instruction two days a week and have online instruction one day a week.

Students with last names starting with A through L will have in-school instruction Mondays and Tuesdays and online learning Thursdays and Fridays.

Students with last names starting with M through Z will have online learning Mondays and Tuesdays and in-person instruction Thursdays and Fridays.

All students will have online learning Wednesdays.

Children from the same household with different last names will attend school on the same days, going by the last name of the oldest student in the household.

WCSD Learning at Home and the WC Virtual Learning Program are options for families who do not want their children following the blended model.

Before the vote, WCSD Superintendent Dr. Lorie Hackett said the models could change frequently “based on current recommendations from state officials and state organizations.” Hackett acknowledged the hardships for families that could arise from the blended model and said there are no right answers. Everybody has their own opinions, she said, adding not everyone will be happy with the outcome of the vote.

“Our administration’s decision making is based on our collective professional experience and background in operating schools, some of us for 30 years,” Hackett said. “We, as administrators, have an obligation to provide the board with our professional guidance as to which model of reopening will result in the safest, most predictable environment for our staff and students.”

Makhoul said he would have a hard time voting for the blended model because the district still doesn’t have responses from many students. He said without having an idea of the number of students choosing in-person instruction, it was difficult to make that decision.

Fonzone said that while he understands both sides, he has concerns about tough financial situations WCSD families could face if students return with the blended model and parents have to make changes to their employment situations.

Shields, who could only find work three hours away during the height of the pandemic, said he couldn’t imagine working a 14-hour day and then coming home to help his children with online school. He said the blended model could cause people to lose their income and health care during a time when the unemployment rate is in double digits.

He acknowledged the amount of work the administration put into planning for the school year and said that regardless of the decision, this is not how he pictured his daughter’s first day of kindergarten.

Leiner stressed this vote was about the safety and security of WCSD students and staff. He said this kind of division between school boards is rare and members have to move forward and prepare for what’s to come.

Following the approval of the blended model, Makhoul asked the board to compromise and requested an amendment to the initial motion for the fully blended model to instead have in-person, five-day-a-week instruction for kindergarten through fifth grade, with blended models for WCMS and WHS.

Makhoul emphasized the data from the parent questionnaires was still incomplete and said he would have a difficult time changing his stance without a better idea of what class sizes would be.

Shields expressed concerns about the availability of child care for elementary school children on the days they do not attend in person, stating that at least one child care center in Whitehall is not accepting children above first grade.

“We have to make a decision. It is not fair to our administrators and to our teachers and to our parents to belabor the fact,” Williams said.

The motion to amend failed 5-2, with only Makhoul and Shields in favor.

Also at the meeting, Hackett thanked the congregation of St. John’s United Church of Christ, Fullerton, the Rev. Cliff Henning and missions committee members Paul and Carol Raszler for school supply donations, as well as Whitehall Staples, along with general manager Aregny Vasquez, for the school supply donations purchased by the community.

The board approved change orders with Myco Mechanical Inc. and CMG of Easton Inc. for the WHS addition and renovations project and change orders with JBM Mechanical Inc., Boro Developers Inc. and Skepton Construction Inc. for the football stadium improvements project. These change orders do not involve any additional costs to the district.

The board approved teacher education credit salary increases for employees who have completed credits beyond their degrees in accordance with the agreement between WCSD and the Whitehall-Coplay Education Association.

Approved retirements at the special meeting include Julie Beck, learning support paraprofessional at Zephyr Elementary, and Janet Schmidt, accounting technician at the district office.

New appointments include Caitlin Johnson, WHS chemistry teacher, at $54,064 per year; Shawn Hazim, temporary WHS guidance counselor, at $60,375 per year; Mary Nehme, salaried WHS Spanish substitute, at $51,048 per year; Nigel Hodge, custodial maintenance at WCMS, at $21.15 per hour; Laura Dickert, WCMS receptionist and security, at $18.44 per hour; and Kalan Student and Marianne Wied, Gockley reading paraprofessionals, at $19.59 per hour.

The next school board meeting is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 14. Committee meetings on operations/transportation, finance/personnel and education/student activities will be held 4 p.m. Aug. 24 and Sept. 28.