Brookline Schools Testing Program Gets State Extension

BROOKLINE, MA — The state this week extended the funding for the pooled COVID-19 testing for three more weeks through April 18. That's potentially good news for Brookline, which is one of the 171 districts that just began participating in the program this week, according to school officials.

State education officials announced Monday the funding will be extended through April 18. The initial funding window only ran through March 28. At that point if Brookline and other communities wanted to continue testing, it would have to pay for it on its own.

Teachers unions across the state and in town have been pushing for pool testing of teachers to ascertain just how safe it is to return to school as Brookline is planning to bring all elementary students back to full-time in-person learning this month.

On Jan. 15 the district began asymptomatic testing for all student-facing staff as part of a program piloted by the Broad Institute. As of Feb. 4, of the 1,805 tested from the town since Jan. 15, three have come back positive for the coronavirus. According to the district dashboard 230 staff have tested positive since the beginning of the school year.

This week, the district begin to incorporate both staff and student pooled testing with the state program.

"This week's announcement is a great step forward, but now we need to get the appointments actually scheduled and underway," said chair of the district's task force on remote learning and school reopening Susan Wolf Ditkoff. "Access is the focus now."

Although the state has indicated it is funding the programs for the 171 districts that participate, it's not clear they're funding the entire testing program, or staffing related to testing for each of those districts which signed up when the program was announced in January.

"It's a very heavy lift, but we are committed to getting it done," Wolf Ditkoff, who is also a school committee member, said. "As we bring more students back into the schools, testing helps us get a sense of any 'hotspots' that may arise so we can nip them in the bud, even before people become symptomatic."

The Brookline Advisory Committee set aside $300,000 in December from the Reserves Fund for the school testing program, with the school committee officials saying they hoped additional CARES funds or funding for the schools would come through.

"Surveillance testing for all our teachers and student-facing staff has been a high priority for months," said Wolf Ditkoff. "We have had a small team of parent volunteers working incredibly hard, nights and weekends, to make this happen with our terrific nursing team. Testing is important, but it's also expensive, so we are working to leverage as much from the DESE-funded program as we can, so we can stretch Brookline's reserve funds as long as possible into the late spring."

The school committee officials said they weren't yet clear on how much the state would reimburse for the pool testing. Patch has reached out to the interim superintendent of schools.

Brookline's teachers union president Jessica Wender-Shubow said pool testing is a fundamental piece of returning to school safely, and she wants to know the district is committed to continuing the program beyond April 18.

"So far, there’s no indication Brookline is committed to doing that," she said in a phone interview. "There has to be incredible rigorous attention to changes in the transmission. "

Encouraging staff to take the test and then sharing data (which the district is already doing) will reassure everyone she said.

"Then we’ll know when this virus is vanquished," she said.

Previously: Brookline Eyes State COVID -19 Pool Testing Offer

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.