VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County Schools is moving forward with a plan to bring all their students back in the fall.
What You Need To Know
- Volusia school district intends to bring kids back to schools this fall
- Parents will also have option to enroll kids in Florida Virtual School
- Get more coronavirus coverage here
District leaders presented their plan so far to get kids back to campuses to the Volusia County School board Tuesday.
“The plan is to start working on getting back to brick and mortar,” said Superintendent Dr. Ronald "Scott" Fritz.
The plan includes measures like seating charts in classrooms and buses to better contact trace students, daily temperature checks for anyone coming on campus, and daily sanitizing of classrooms and buses.
But some Volusia County parents like Daisey Gonzalez are still nervous.
“I just don’t want to take chances with my kids,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has a 10-year-old and 14-year-old in Volusia County schools. She says it's hard enough to get adults to take health guidelines seriously, much less school-age kids.
“I just think that kids are going to be kids. You know, they go into bathrooms together, and you know they go to lunch together,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says she wishes the distance learning option could continue for parents. But Superintendent Fritz says they can’t do both at the same time.
“A blended approach would not work for our district. Our committee was not in favor of that. We could not afford that, we could not afford the busing, we could not afford the meals, so this is really our option, Fritz said.
Board members reported Florida virtual school enrollment is already up by anywhere from 300-400%.
They say they need to allocate more teachers and resources to that option since it's likely more parents will choose that.
Gonzalez says that’s most likely the option she’ll be choosing.
“The numbers are going higher, and I just don’t think that’s a good idea. So I for one will not be sending my kids back in August,” she said.
Although the plan is almost complete, the Volusia County Back-to-School Committee still has some details to iron out.
School board members say they want to have a plan ready to present and vote on by July 15 so parents and school staff have to time to prepare.
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