By SARIT LASCHSINSKY

Special to The Press

Northwestern Lehigh School Board members reviewed the district’s revised Health and Safety Plan on Aug. 18 for the public’s benefit.

The plan was previously discussed at their Aug. 4 workshop.

Superintendent Jennifer Holman said the board originally approved the plan as required in June.

She then summarized revisions made on July 30.

One change added a federal order mandating the wearing of face coverings on public transportation, which was deemed to include public school transportation, as well as in nurses’ suites and athletic trainers’ offices.

Holman noted at the workshop, according to the Department of Health, face coverings might also be required if a vaccinated person comes in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.

She said these people must wear a face covering until they test negative.

Other changes include modifications to social distancing, holding classes outdoors or in large spaces, seating students in a zigzag pattern rather than face-to-face, restricting building usage, asking volunteers and visitors to self-screen before entry and to wear a face covering indoors if not vaccinated, and to hold meetings, with the exception of school board meetings, virtually if at all possible.

Holman said the district watches health and case data closely, and will make the necessary change if the data “is indicative of us needing to make a change.”

She said this data includes case counts, positivity rates, local, state and county information, rolling averages, age distributions, severity reports and more.

Holman said following this data has led to the district’s success and adaptability.

According to the current plan, if a change to the district’s operations is necessary, Holman said she will make the adjustments and communicate it to families as soon as possible.

“The numbers are certainly not trending in a positive direction,” she added.

Board President Willard Dellicker said the plan changes were “mandated by entities in our government.”

Holman noted this was done successfully last year.

“At some point, there ends up being a message where we need to mandate mask wearing for a limited period of time or until we decide differently,” she said. “[The district’s priority is to] maximize the amount of in-person learning for our students and to do so safely, and if that means we need to put additional mitigation strategies in place we will certainly do that.”

Board member Rosemarie Lister asked how the district is receiving information from local and regional health experts.

Holman replied that administrators regularly meet with both St. Luke’s University Health Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network for guidance and information.

She noted both networks have “very robust” pages listing important live information, which is provided to Northwestern Lehigh and combined with county, Zip code and other information to make the best-informed decisions.

“Our approach has been, and continues to be from day one, a layered approach,” Holman said, adding the district has taken steps such as improving ventilation, installing bipolar ionization, maintaining screening and visitor protocols and more.

Lister thanked Holman for reiterating how the district must be flexible and adaptable, and also how they need to listen to local health experts.

“There is a lot of politicizing going on, and a lot of misinformation, but then we have local experts you can talk to, ask questions of, and seek out that panel of experts,” Lister said.

Dellicker said the board has “tried to make things as normal as possible” throughout COVID, particularly for students.

He added the mitigation measures in the plan should be a “minimal interruption” to their day, adding the board’s focus is to return to normal and give parents the responsibility to do what is best for their kids.

Board member James Warfel then commented.

“Two weeks ago I was fine with this plan,” Warfel said.

“I am not now.”

Warfel said he had been watching the development and spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, and the threat it poses.

“I see us going into a school year that is as challenging, if not more challenging, than last year was,” Warfel said, adding he was raising concerns for discussion, as there is a major controversy running wild as to whether or not kids should be in school with face coverings, or not.

He said while Holman and Dellicker mentioned several mitigation strategies that remain from the previous year, there were several changes and measures that are no longer in place, which troubled him.

Warfel said last year, the district only had half as many students in school on any given day, which made it easier to pinpoint, respond and contain any concerns about COVID-19 spread in school.

“You lose that mitigation strategy by having twice as many kids in the school,” Warfel said, adding he fully supports having students back in school full-time.

“[But] we would be down to minimal or nonexistent social distancing in reality and with it comes the increased possibility of people getting sick in school, spread and possibility of school closures.”

Warfel also referred to reports of schools across the country “where there are literally tens of thousands of students who have been sent home to quarantine at this moment, because of the spread of this variant.”

He said while his statements were not changes to the existing safety plan, and some members of the community oppose his position, others agree and share the same concerns.

“For me, I’ve always gone with the mantra that you err on the side of caution and, for me, that means in this situation we should open school with face coverings. It’s a precaution,” Warfel said. “Listen, we don’t get a mulligan on this. There is no second chance.

“If we have something break out in school, and someone becomes tragically ill because of it, and we didn’t know what we could have done to mitigate it, I for one, could not possibly be at this table tonight without raising that as a concern.”

Lister commended the board for being able to discuss the matter professionally and said for the past year she had been impressed by the response from the community, staff and especially students.

“It’s been a really hard year. The mental health and physical health is important for everyone, and academics above all-else,” Lister said, adding while she believes in bringing back children full-time, there are easy mitigation strategies that can be taken like wearing a mask, and the community should be open to taking these steps.

“It doesn’t have to be political,” Lister said. “It can be a real solution if needed, if the numbers continue to rise and the risk is there so our students can stay in school, stay in sports, stay in extracurricular activities and have that great opportunity at Northwestern.”

Dellicker said the administration and staff have over a year’s worth of experience handling COVID-19, and he credited the leadership for monitoring the data and community.

“[I am] fully confident the health and safety plan will lead toward a sense of normal, but if there’s a correction to be made, that correction will be made for the safety of our staff and our children,” Dellicker said.