February 23, 2021: Chino Valley Sets the Elementary Return to Campus

At a special meeting called for a single action item, Chino Valley Unified's board approved bringing TK-2 students back to campus on March 4, 2021 and grades three through six on March 8, turned down a one-week delay, set a separate track-by-track calendar for Cal Aero Preserve Academy, and let the superintendent reopen grades 7 through 12 once the county meets state guidelines 12. President Joe Schaffer called the special meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. with Bridge, Cruz, Gagnier, Na, and Schaffer present in the Board room, and the meeting was live streamed on YouTube 1. Board member Christina Gagnier led the Pledge of Allegiance 1.

Four days earlier, KVCR reported that San Bernardino County's adjusted case rate had stayed below 25 new cases per 100,000 people for five consecutive days, clearing elementary schools in the county to reopen if they had a reopening plan 3.

📨 Email comments

Under comments on agenda items, the minutes record that Lauren Martin, Arlene Lamb, Margaret S, Joann Luna, Kevin Butscher, Carlos Sanchez, Melissa Sanchez, Stephanie, Yolanda Alvidrez, Bonni Gallegos, CVUSD parent, Mrs. Concerned, Keith Stroud, and William Burns submitted email comments regarding the reopening of schools 1.

On the recording, staff read the emails aloud in the order they were received 4. The minutes give all fourteen the same subject and do not record what each writer said. Because the recording reads each writer's name together with their email, this summary does not describe the individual comments.

🏫 TK-6 return dates

The minutes record a motion by James Na, seconded by Andrew Cruz, to discuss the motion as read by President Schaffer 1. Staff told the board that the previous meeting had produced a March 3 target, which staff had adjusted to March 4 and March 8 5.

Don Bridge moved, and Christina Gagnier seconded, an amendment substituting March 11 for the March 4 date and March 15 for the March 8 date. It failed on a roll call, with Bridge and Gagnier voting yes and Cruz, Na, and Schaffer voting no 1. The board then approved the in-person school reopening plan for grades TK-2 effective March 4, 2021, and grades three through six effective March 8, 2021, by roll call on a motion by Na, seconded by Cruz 1. The transcript moves from the call for final comments straight to the next item, so the minutes are the only record of that roll call 6.

The Champion reported that Cruz had also suggested letting each school determine its own opening date, and that he later rescinded that substitute motion 7. The minutes do not record that motion 1. The paper also reported that after Gagnier said it was unreasonable to have each school set its own date, Cruz questioned her leadership because she had not attended meetings in person until February 18, and Gagnier answered that his reference to her as "being in the basement" was divisive rhetoric and that personal attacks were not acceptable 7.

According to the Champion, the plan put elementary students who had chosen the district's blended program in class two days a week with two and a half days online, left families who chose distance learning unaffected, and required masks for all students, TK children included 7.

Several explanations on the recording frame the plan:

• Why not daily half-day sessions. Staff said the district had looked at at least eight models, and that a morning and afternoon schedule would require buying about 15 more buses (as captioned) to carry elementary students once junior high and high school students also returned 89.
• Switching programs. Staff said letting families move between the blended and distance programs would take several weeks of parent surveys and then school-by-school changes, making a March 4 start impossible, and estimated the work at three to four weeks 555.
• Case rates and vaccines. From the dais, a member read the county's case rate as 14.27, down from about 132 on December 28, 2020, and the district's own rate as 17.8 (figures as captioned) 1010. The member added that the vaccine clinic cancellations raised earlier were not a district decision but followed storms in Texas and elsewhere that disrupted vaccine deliveries 8.

🛩️ Cal Aero Preserve Academy

On a motion by Na, seconded by Gagnier, the board approved by roll call a separate schedule for Cal Aero Preserve Academy: Track A grades K-2 effective March 9, 2021 and grades three through six effective March 11; Track B grades K-2 effective March 11 and grades three through six effective March 15; Track C grades K-2 effective March 18 and grades three through six effective March 22; and Track D grades K-2 effective April 8 and grades three through six effective April 12, 2021 2.

Staff explained that Tracks A, B and C had started in July without the chance to choose between the blended and distance programs that Track D had, so the district had to survey those families and re-form classes, one track at a time 6611.

🎒 Grades 7 through 12

The minutes record a motion by Na, seconded by Bridge, to discuss the item. Na then moved, seconded by Cruz, to amend the motion to read "Authorize the Superintendent to begin in-person instruction for grades 7-12 and opening K-12 in full time basis when the County and state guidelines are met." The amendment failed on a roll call, with Cruz and Na voting yes and Bridge, Gagnier, and Schaffer voting no 2.

On a motion by Na, seconded by Bridge, the board then voted to authorize the Superintendent to begin in-person instruction for grades 7 through 12 when the County meets state guidelines 2. Staff said the motion pointed to state guidelines because they kept changing, and that reaching the red tier would let the superintendent work with school sites to bring secondary students back into the blended program quickly 1111.

The Champion reported that under state guidelines, seventh through 12th graders could not return until the county reached seven positive cases per 100,000 people, and quoted Superintendent Norm Enfield: "The goal is to get all grade levels back in the classroom five days a week, as soon as possible" 7.

📄 About this record

President Schaffer adjourned the special meeting at 5:29 p.m. 2. The minutes are signed by President Joe Schaffer and Clerk Donald L. Bridge 2, and the board approved them at its March 4, 2021 regular meeting 12.