MONTVALE—The meeting of the Pascack Valley Regional High School Board of Trustees on Aug. 30 was productive, with members:
- Approving board and district goals;
- Agreeing on “The Road Forward” policy regarding state Covid-19 guidance in time for the start of school;
- Setting new and revised curricula; and
- Confirming/renewing special law enforcement officer III agreements with members Hillsdale and Montvale.
And parents spoke out at the public microphone, at Pascack Hills High School, on mask requirements, anxiety, and public health.
According to Business Administrator Yas Usami, everything proposed on the meeting’s agenda was approved, including a fair bit of housekeeping, such as personnel matters. The meeting was livestreamed.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein said of the start of school, “We are excited for the beginning of our school year. While the pandemic continues to throw us curve balls, we are thrilled to be in-person with our students.”
He shared links to answer questions about what the school year will look like, with resources residing at the school, district, and state level.
He said, “If beyond these resources you still have questions, I encourage you to contact your child’s counselor, school nurse, or building principal as these staff members are best suited to address school related concerns.”
Vaccination update
Fishbein said Pascack Hills and Pascack Valley high schools “are unique in that our entire student population is eligible for vaccination. In addition to the requirement for our staff to be fully vaccinated or regularly test for Covid-19 as per Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 253, it is my hope that families who can will make a decision to protect their families and communities.”
One member of the public asked about next steps after a teacher was quarantining after an exposure to Covid-19. The board said that the students would come to class and the teacher would appear virtually; an adult will stay in the classroom to supervise.
The board also heard next steps on the search for a permanent superintendent: search firms and the vetting of candidates.
The Road Forward
“The Road Forward” Covid-19 Health and Safety policy notes that the Board of Education plans to provide full-day, full-time, in-person instruction and operations for the 2021-2022 school year.
In June, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) and the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) worked collaboratively to develop the guidance, which replaces the mandatory anticipated minimum standards outlined in the NJDOE’s “The Road Back – Restart and Recovery Plan for Education” (June 2020) and provides a range of recommendations rather than mandatory standards.
These recommendations are meant to assist school districts in implementing protocols to reduce risks to students and staff from Covid-19 while allowing for full-time learning.
The board said it considered many factors as it prepared for the school year, “including the level of Covid-19 transmission in the community at large and in the school community, as well as vaccination coverage rates in both the community at large and the school community.”
The policy covers general health and safety concerns of students, staff, and visitors, including vaccination, communication with local health officials, mask wearing protocol, physical distancing and cohorting protocols, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, the provision of meals, and transportation protocols.
It also takes up cleaning, disinfection, and airflow; screening, exclusion, and response to symptomatic students and staff; contact tracing; testing section; and student and staff travel.
District and board goals
Among the district’s priorities: Continue to improve upon its ability to prepare students for the skills they need to be successful in college and career via “Real World Learning” and to initiate a civics program for all students that promotes working to make a difference one’s community and developing the knowledge, skills, motivation, and values to make that difference.
As well, it intends to “continue to advance the work of inclusivity and equity throughout the district” and “incorporate data-driven research into equity education for faculty, collaborative efforts with community and regional partners, curriculum development, leadership, and goal setting.”
The board resolved its goals would include a successful superintendent search and receiving training in the area of school finance throughout the 2021-2022 school year.
According to meeting coverage by Pascack Press Student Press Partner PV Student Publication, several people spoke out on the issue of masks:
I do not want my child to be segregated from other students who are vaccinated, have her stand out like a sore thumb, have to be quarantined, and looked down upon — and I certainly don’t want any coercion coming to my child, telling her that she needs to get vaccinated.”
— Amanda Mendez, River Vale
“My daughter, who graduated last year, wouldn’t want to be in a school with people without masks, she would feel at risk. And that’s the other side of it. So I agree and I respect what you’re saying, but when I look at this, I also look at my particular daughter and I look hard.”
— BOE Vice President Joseph Blundo
“My son is about to start his freshman year of high school, and instead of being nervous about a new school, new year, girls, the normal things that freshmen should be afraid of; he’s nervous about having to wear a mask eight hours a day, every day, five days a week. My concern is for the well-being of the children. I’m wondering when it became the children’s responsibility to be the saviors of all the people that can’t save themselves in this world.”
— Sheila Mita, Montvale
“To compare requiring students to share their vaccination status with requiring Jews to wear stars on their clothes during the Holocaust is completely out of pocket. One is to protect the medical safety of the students and the other was a result of a dictatorship under Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The subjectees were then sent to concentration camps to die.
“You can have your opinions about whether we should wear masks or get the vaccine and how the district should handle it, but to compare that to the Holocaust, which many of those people in this room applauded at is insulting, degrading, and frankly makes me feel incredibly unwelcome by my community.”
— Riley Solomon, Montvale