Under Pressure, Putnam Seeks Guidance On School Reopening From NY

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — With pressure mounting from Putnam County residents wondering why businesses are open and sports have resumed but schools are still in full pandemic mode, officials in Putnam announced Friday they are seeking new guidance from New York State.

Noting that local parents have become increasingly vocal, questioning policies and pointing out inconsistencies and disparities, Putnam officials said the state's coronavirus guidelines have caused confusion and led to variation between schools locally as well as across counties.

The districts in Putnam County have been running their own (state-approved) programs of in-classroom, remote and hybrid learning since September.

"With grey areas of the guidance and varied interpretations, it is time the state steps in to clarify and stop the spread of misinformation," Mahopac school superintendent Anthony DiCarlo said in a join statement with county officials. "We submitted our re-entry plans last summer, and we have adhered to them. We need clarity from New York State about what revisions they will permit and it should be a regional approach."

DiCarlo told his school community last week that the district could not bring students back full-time because of coronavirus variants and county health department directives, a situation that could last into September, TapInto Mahopac reported. His remarks on the district's "Spotlight on Mahopac Schools" program drew fire early this week from members of the group Open Schools Putnam County over what they saw as inexcusable inertia.

"I feel a lack of urgency," parent Jamie Callanan told Patch. "All around us I’m getting emails from people seeing Westchester and Long Island schools planning for 5-day in-person instruction starting in March and I feel like we are not moving fast enough to that goal."

On Friday, Putnam county officials said they understood parents' frustrations.

"The concerns of parents are one of our highest priorities," County Executive MaryEllen Odell said in the statement. "I have asked Governor Cuomo directly to discuss the numerous issues surrounding school re-openings with us. I want to make sure the State has heard us loud and clear. From day one, our schools have been adhering to New York State Department of Health and New York State Education Department guidance. Our districts revisit their health and safety plans periodically — We want to know if NYS is doing the same. The guidance provided by the state must be clear and equitable."

Putnam officials acknowledged that the virtual or hybrid classrooms considered temporary a year ago when the coronavirus pandemic began remain the standard for many students in pre-K through 12th grade. They pointed out that families have varied needs and levels of comfort with both the delivery of instruction and the safety precautions.

They said that behind the scenes, they had initiated direct conversations with the governor and state lawmakers.

They singled out one guideline: the practice of quarantining contacts that have been more than six feet away from an infected individual.

In fact, these "proximate" contacts are not defined or required to quarantine by the CDC, they said, which instead focuses solely on identification and quarantine of contacts that have been within six feet of an individual during the infectious period.

In addition to asking for clarification on that, Putnam officials said the county executive, county health department and local school superintendents are working with other partners to address two of their main concerns: mental health and vaccine availability.

They said Putnam County considers the push for more vaccines vital to bolster the numbers of fully-vaccinated school staff and faculty even though the CDC does not consider the vaccination of teachers to be a requisite for safely re-opening schools.

"Having school personnel vaccinated means they can confidently report to work," said Putnam Commissioner of Health, Michael J. Nesheiwat MD. "It is important that schools continue to remain open for the children, not only for their educational development, but for their mental health and well-being."

New York did prioritize vaccine access for teachers, who along with first responders were in the second group eligible for vaccination, right after frontline medical workers.

"We must be cautious and continue to balance the benefits versus the risks," Nesheiwat said. "We will continue to follow guidance from the CDC and NYSDOH. We will also, in the interim, continue to aggressively vaccinate school staff as more vaccine is made available from New York State."

He also said that New York is following the CDC guidance and no longer requires quarantine, either after travel or exposure, of any individual who has been fully vaccinated.

DiCarlo stressed the operational difficulties to offer in-person learning when teachers and other staff and faculty, including bus drivers, end up out on quarantine or isolation in the statement.

"We need vaccines to ensure teachers can maintain continuity in the classroom, and transportation departments can operate seamlessly," he said. "Vaccinating our staff and faculty, along with consistent masking and social distancing will certainly help us meet the needs of our community."

Furthermore, county officials said the Department of Social Services and Mental Health along with Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES and local child mental health providers will meet with schools and the health department next week to address and further study the specific impacts of prolonged virtual learning on the mental health of students.

"While the primary response to this pandemic focuses on mitigating the spread of COVID-19, we must not overlook the mental health effects as well," Commissioner of Social Services and Mental Health, Michael Piazza said in the statement. "Remote learning, either consistently or involving a transition between in-person and remote, can impact the mental and emotional needs of students. Among potential educational and developmental challenges, remote learning can pose challenges to the students’ relationships with their teachers and their peers, and some families are experiencing stress on the parent-child relationship as well."

MORE READING:

• Districts Deliberate As Pressure To Reopen Schools Rises
• Parents Group Calls For Reopening Schools In Putnam County