Greenville County Schools will start the school year on Aug. 17 with a full-time, in-person schedule as mandated by South Carolina lawmakers.
Superintendent Burke Royster outlined the requirements during a special called meeting of the Board of Trustees on Aug. 3 to discuss the operational protocols for the 2021-2022 school year.
The district will reopen applications for its virtual learning academy immediately. While Greenville is an eLearning district, a state budget proviso caps enrollment at 5 percent of the student population before funding is at risk.
The district has between 2,500 and 2,600 students enrolled in eLearning now. The latest application period will offer around 1,000 additional students the opportunity to learn virtually. The 5 percent cap would be between 3,600 and 3,700 students. Royster said it is not out of the conversation to exceed the cap, but would risk funding.
While adopting some definitions and requirements from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), most of the district's protocols are aligned with the rules set forth by the state legislature. Masks will not be required for students or staff in school buildings or on buses, though they can choose to wear face coverings. The only exception to this protocol is symptomatic people within the health room and nurses administering care to those individuals.
“If we don’t follow that [mask] proviso, we will be raising your taxes $200 million,” Trustee Sarah Dulin said.
Schools will not group students together based on masking or vaccination status.
“It would be logistically impossible, we believe, to do so,” Royster said.
A student or employee may share their vaccination status if they are subject to a quarantine. Proof of vaccination would grant a person a shortened quarantine as aligned with DHEC requirements.
“Our position is that we believe parents should consult medical professionals and make decisions about whether or not to vaccinate their child,” Royster said.
Royster also outlined social distancing, contact tracing, events, facility cleaning and filtration, athletics, and quarantines and isolations. The district has provided faculty and staff with an abridged version of what to expect and will be communicating more with families by as early as the morning of Aug. 4.
Royster noted the board is still seeking input regarding the district's protocols from health entities in the community, including Prisma Health, Bon Secours and MUSC. The district is also awaiting answers from DHEC to its questions. Royster does not anticipate that input will substantially change current protocols.
Trustees discussed the protocols and other COVID-related issues for over an hour, touching issues such as filtration systems in the schools and how to address potential bullying of students for their individual mask choices. The conversations did not alter the operational protocols laid out in the presentation.
The board will discuss COVID-related leave for staff during a committee of the whole meeting on Aug. 10, with the recommendation from Royster to the board to extend the system it adopted last year.
