School Closure: What Richland families need to know

RICHLAND, Wash.-- The Richland School District Board of Directors held an emergency meeting Friday afternoon to declare a state of emergency due to COVID-19, authorized the superintendent to make policy rules and regulations without calling an emergency school board meeting, discuss plans for implementing Gov. Jay Inslee's order to close all schools in the state effective no later than Tuesday, March 17.

RSD is one of a handful of schools that has decided to cancel classes starting Monday, rather than waiting until Tuesday. Students and staff will be permitted to go to their schools during regular school hours during the week of March 16 in order to collect personal belongings and other materials that may be needed while schools are closed:

• Elementary schools & Early Learning Center: Students and families may contact their school’s office to make arrangements.
• Middle and high schools and alternative programs: Each school will communicate a schedule to their students and parents directly on Monday, March 16 about when they can visit the school.

Schulte said plans could change, but for now, the school district plans to remain closed at least through April 24, 2020, with classes resuming on Monday, April 27th.

"But we'll also be looking at the potential that if it doesn't open on April 27th, that might mean that it's not going to open again until September. Because if doesn't open on April 27th, I would expect that it's going to be closed through at least the normal ending of school in June. It's just my speculation," Schulte said. "So, we have to keep that in the back of our minds as we think through different scenarios that might emerge."

The Boys and Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties currently provides before school care for the Richland and Pasco School Districts, and RSD is working with the agency to provide child care services for families in the district on a priority basis. Gov. Inslee asked school districts to provide daycare services for the children of health care workers and first responders.

The district is still working on its plans for providing breakfast and lunch for students, and is considering having school buses travel regular bus routes and deliver sacked meals for all students who want them. That service won't start on Monday, but is expected sometime during the first week of the closure. The state will reimburse school districts for feed all students, even those that don't qualify for free and reduced meals, and the schools do not have to identify the students who take meals during the closure.

"No decisions were reached when it comes to what will happen to staff because we didn't know all of the direction that we were going to get from the state, for one thing," Schulte said. "Some of the state implementation was answered for us by the governor, but we haven't heard detailed things from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. We're still waiting for that. We're also waiting for some opinions from the state Attorney General's office which would govern what we are able to do or what we are not able to do with regard to staff contracts. So there's still a lot of unknown."

Schulte addressed concerns about graduation, in light of the order from Gov. Inslee that events with more than 250 people need to be cancelled, but also for students who need to complete their final semester of school to earn the credits needed to graduate. The governor and state superintendent Chris Reykdal have said that some allowances can be made, but the district will need to formalize those in the coming days

"It's our intention to graduate everyone who is currently on track to graduate. We'll find some way to make that happen," Schulte said.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for March 23, 2020, but the board could call another emergency meeting next week to discuss additional developments.

Richland families will receive additional information through emails, and updates on the school district website and social media pages.