FCS teachers union 'concerned' with district's COVID-19 plan

There's been a voice missing in the din of rowdy crowds confronting the Findlay City Schools Board of Education lately, arguing against a mask mandate. The teachers have been noticeably quiet. This week, The Courier approached the union stewards of the Findlay Education Association and asked for their position on the number of active COVID-19 cases among the staff, and the district's current operations. In a joint statement issued Thursday, FEA co-presidents Becky Biesiada and Angela Dittman said, "We are very concerned because our goal is to keep in-person learning, and we are fearful that this goal is being compromised with our current plan." As of late Friday, Findlay City Schools was reporting 50 active cases of COVID-19 among its student population — including the Millstream Career Center — and 79 students quarantined. A total of 500 students are currently undergoing contact tracing by Hancock Public Health, including 242 students from Donnell Middle School. According to the school district's online COVID-19 dashboard, 20 staff members have active cases of the disease, and three are quarantined. The dashboard is updated daily at www.fcs.org. Those are much higher numbers than the district was reporting at this time last school year, the union representatives said. "This isn't including the number of teachers and paraprofessionals required to stay home with a quarantined child. There is a lack of subs on a normal day. Teachers and administration have been working double-time to cover all of the unstaffed classrooms," Biesiada and Dittman said. A shortage of substitute teachers forced Findlay schools to move to a mixed remote and hybrid instructional model in November 2020. The district eventually returned to full-time, in-person instruction later in the 2020-21 year, with masks mandatory. "We as a community need to do everything possible to keep our students and staff safe and healthy. Unfortunately, that isn't happening right now," Biesiada and Dittman said. "Unfortunately, this has become a political game instead of following the guidance of experts. Although there are many different feelings among teachers, there are teachers within the district who feel that they are being unfairly scrutinized by a faction of the community who have unfounded allegations, and this makes it very difficult to teach. Ultimately, we simply want to come in and teach safely. " All local school districts returned to full-time, in-person instruction with masks and vaccines optional, but highly recommend. Masks are required on school transportation. Only the Cory-Rawson Local School District has said it will not require masks or social distancing on school transportation. Health Commissioner Karim Baroudi told The Courier on Friday that Hancock County school-age children, ages 5-18, account for 17.7% of the county's active cases. Of the 411 active cases known by the health department, 73 cases were schoolchildren. Hancock Public Health has recommended that the school districts enact a universal mask policy, at least until the current local surge ends. The health department cautioned the schools prior to the start of the academic year that making masks optional would lead to disruptions in the school year. This week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said nearly 58% of Ohio's public K-12 students are required by their local school to wear masks in schools. On Sept. 1, only 35% of Ohio students were required to wear a mask. "I am pleased to see more school superintendents and school boards make the right decision and require masks to protect students and teachers from COVID-19 spread," DeWine said. "We share a common goal of ensuring kids are in school, in person, five days a week. While vaccinations remain the best protection against severe COVID-19 cases, masking will help protect those that can't yet receive the vaccine and adds another layer of protection for those that have." The governor's statement went on to say that mask policies are working to limit the spread: "In Ohio school districts where masks are optional, case rates are higher than in districts that require some masking, and we see better week-to-week trends in schools where everyone wears a mask. Most importantly, there have been fewer quarantines in schools where everyone wears a mask, helping us towards meeting the goal of keeping Ohio children in the classroom." The Findlay City Schools Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. Monday in the community room of Donnell Middle School, 301 Baldwin Ave. As of late Friday, the agenda for the meeting had not been posted on the district's website. Grant: 419-427-8412