By L. Parsons The Winslow Unified School District Governing Board met last week in part to discuss COVID-19 mitigation for the upcoming school year. Not much conversation took place as Governing Board President Al Leonard and Vice President Joseph Hartnett were both absent. However, Superintendent Connie Gover presented a letter to the board and to the public outlining the plan for returning to in-person only learning starting July 29. In the letter, she explained that the districts priorities are: maintaining a safe and healthy workplace/classroom; sustaining the continuity of instruction to all students; and encouraging an environment of fairness, open communications, and concern for the well-being of students and staff. To begin, Gover said, “This is a living document, ever changing and updated as more information is learned,” pointing out the need to monitor local, state and tribal contagion numbers. Face coverings will be encouraged, explained Gover, but not required by either staff or students. Dividers will be removed and students will be offered more opportunities to interact. Cleaning and disinfecting procedures put into place during the last school year will remain intact. Gover said, “The importance of staying home when sick cannot be emphasized enough. Should a student or staff member feel ill, the best practice is to stay home.” The letter continued, “Schools will report any outbreaks to the Navajo County Health Department. Having more than one case within a school does not constitute an outbreak. An outbreak will be defined as two or more confirmed cases among students or staff with onsets within a 14-day period who do not belong to the same household and were not identified as close contacts in another setting during contact tracing.” In conclusion, Gover said, “The decision to quarantine a class, close a portion of the school or close the school entirely will be made in close coordination with health professionals and the county health department. Both the context of local spread as well as the school’s mitigation practices should be considered.” The dashboard of COVID-19 resources including confirmed exposures can be found on the district website at www.wusd1.org. In other business, the governing board: * Approved the 2021-2022 expenditure budget of $13.9 million. This is an increase of $685,614 over last year’s limit. Business Manager Shirley Lomeli explained that is partially due to the return of nearly 150 students as well as federal grants and American Rescue Plan monies. * Ratified vouchers in a routine procedure that allows the board to submit vouchers to the County Superintendent between meetings. * Approved the hiring of Christopher Garrett, head football coach for eighth grade; Luis Petit, eighth grade assistant football coach; Joseph Larsen, seventh grade head football coach; Brian Wilcox, eighth grade softball coach; and Stephanie Lymer, seventh grade softball coach. * Approved the rehiring of the following substitute teachers Misty Benham, Krista Bush, Betty Clark, Eric Leonard, Morris Nesmith, Marianne Richardson, Susan St. Germaine, Carl Turner, Kimberly Gould, Chuck Hodge, Cheyne Lowry, Bea Lucero, Susan Patlak and Shirley Wyatt. * Approved the hiring of Joanna Venegas as an Alternative Education Teacher at Winslow High School and Roberta Wagner as a Navajo Language teacher at WHS. * Approved the hiring of April Martinez as an emergency substitute teacher and Madison LaFon as a paraprofessional at Bonnie Brennan Elementary. * Approved the transfer of Reanna Walton from paraprofessional to emergency substitute teacher. * Approved an agreement between the Navajo County Community College District and the Winslow Unified School District for TALON (Technology to Advance Learning Outcomes at Northland) courses in a routine procedure. * Approved an agreement between Vail Unified School District and WUSD for the Beyond Textbooks program. The program was created by teachers and district leaders in the Vail district and utilized by over 140 districts nationwide. The program is a collaborative curriculum designed to strengthen the support for teachers and improve student achievement. * Approved the document request for Wells Fargo line of credit for the district credit renewal with Navajo County. * Heard the district financial report for June in which Lomeli explained the district was at 87% of their budget spent with 96% of the school year elapsed. Lomeli said, “I say 96% because we have until August to continue paying invoices. We will finish at nearly 90% of our budget spent, which is good.” The next meeting of the Winslow Unified School District Governing Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21, in the board meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
