Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By TOM LAVENTURE
Hurley — A slight policy change will allow Hurley students who test negative following a COVID-19 exposure to return to school sooner.
The Hurley K-12 School Board of Education on Monday approved a change to the current close contact policy that requires a student with a close contact to wear a face covering for nine days instead of the previously required 14 days as long as they test negative after day five and do not have symptoms for COVID-19. The student could return to school on day eight but would be required to wear a face covering for days eight and nine.
“Similar concepts are being instituted across the United States and are often referred to as ‘test to stay,’” Kevin Genisot, school district administrator. “It allows students who are willing to test each day to remain in school. Almost all students, if testing positive, are testing positive by the fifth day, while a very high number of close contacts are not testing positive at all.”
A board-approved option to the policy will now allow a student who is considered to be a close contact to have the opportunity to remain in school as long as they have a negative test for seven consecutive school days, wear a face-covering, and do not have symptoms, Genisot said. All COVID-19 testing must be completed at school by the school’s COVID clinic staff and have parent approval.
This is a change that allows students to remain in school while still taking the precautions necessary to mitigate the risk associated with spreading COVID, he said. Students, if required to wear a face-covering to attend school, would be required to wear a face-covering if participating in any school event, including sports.
“I hate to see these kids missing so much school,” said school board president Leslie Kolesar. “As you know, last year, we didn’t have the option of testing our students.”
Working parents should not have to decide whether or not to stay home with a child in quarantine. That really creates hardship, she said.
“I think it’s really disruptive for the kids,” Kolesar said. “Now that we can test, I think that’s a really good idea (the new policy).”
Board discussion on the agenda item led to queries about students being bullied for wearing, or not wearing, a face covering. Grade 6-12 Principal Melissa Oja said that no students have reported instances of such bullying to the office and that might be due to efforts at the start of the school year to address the mask options and to treat people with respect for their choices.
The school board approved a pay raise for substitute teachers, associates and cleaners. The raise was to bring hourly pay in accordance with similar jobs in the Hurley and Ironwood area.
The substitute teacher pay was increased from $110 to $125 per day. The associate and cleaner pay was increased from $10.50 to $14 per hour.
Board members noted that a 40% increase may seem steep, but that it is based on local pay rates with similar jobs in the area. Kolesar said the matter could be revisited in the future if there is difficulty hiring and retaining workers who leave for similar work elsewhere.
Genisot said that a Wisconsin Department of Transportation Safe Paths to School grant to develop a walking path along Range View Drive will be submitted in September 2022 rather than for this year. The reason is to allow the city of Hurley and the town of Kimball to complete possible plans for the reconstruction of the road which would impact the path construction.
