District Information Regarding Reopening Target

UPDATED INFORMATION RE: BCESD REOPENING TARGET

The Bullhead City Elementary School District governing board voted unanimously Wednesday night to reopen schools for in-person classes no sooner than September 28. It is conditional upon COVID-19 benchmarks for the area improving.

The date was a compromise between a recommendation of the district’s leadership team to open at the end of the first quarter of school in early October, and those who preferred to have schools reopen closer to an August 17 target date originally set by Gov. Doug Ducey. Board members agreed that state-recommended benchmarks have not yet been met for that soon a date, nor would it be logistically feasible.

When in-person classes resume, parents and faculty will still have an option to continue online distance learning. Some parents may not want their children in a traditional class setting right away, and some faculty members have health concerns and would prefer to continue teaching in an online environment unless all safety guidelines have been met.

Under Gov. Ducey’s executive orders, targeted students (including special education, homeless and English language learners) may be allowed back on campus in small socially-distanced groups as early as next week. The executive orders also require school districts to provide “safe spaces” for students who might otherwise be left home alone while parents work. BCESD is using grant-funding for those students, as well as the children of some district employees who are teaching, to have socially-distanced “safe spaces” for studying at the Boys and Girls of the Colorado River, one of the organizations allowed to remain open when schools were ordered closed.

The September 28 compromise is to see if there is a spike in local COVID-19 cases in the two weeks following the Labor Day holiday weekend, as there were following Memorial Day and Independence Day. Board members agreed that they didn't want to reopen schools just to shut them down again.

There will be additional details in Thursday’s Mohave Valley Daily News. Additionally, BCESD will send out follow-up information electronically and by auto-dialer in the coming days.