Hurley K-12 School continues working around coronavirus

HURLEY, Wis. - The new coronavirus pandemic that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was the central topic the Hurley Public School Board meeting on Monday.

Two Iron County Health Department staff, Katie Hampston, public health officer, and Melissa Geach, public health nurse, were present at the meeting to answer board questions. The two said the prevention efforts that encourage isolation and bans the congregating of people are to "flatten the curve" of the number of people who are infected at any given time.

"We don't want everybody to get infected at once so the medical infrastructure is not so overwhelmed," Hampston said.

The virus has changed as it moved from China to Europe and no one is sure yet how it will impact the North America, she said. But isolation to flatten the curve will slow the spread and improve the capacity to respond, she said.

Any unnecessary congregation of people is not advised, Geach said. That includes the students who are not in school.

"God bless you and your staffs for dealing with this," said Joseph Simonich, board president. "You're right down there on the front lines, so thank you."

Simonich said that even though there are no known COVID-19 cases yet in Iron County, the statewide and nationwide increase of cases point toward an indefinite extension of school closure. It might not be the case, but the likelihood is there, he said.

"I think parents need to prepare to have their kids out of the building until the end of the school year," Simonich said. "The sooner people think about that, the better."

Kevin Genisot, school district administrator, said there aren't any facts or information to support the idea that school may be canceled for the year. At this time and place it's about meeting the needs of families and community and educating them about every change or update in information, he said.

"The message is to stay connected," Genisot said. "People need encouragement and reinforcement during this difficult time."

The school is communicating regularly with the health department regarding guidance and procedures, he said. School staff and health professionals are monitoring changes hourly to update planning and keeping faculty, parents and community informed and involved, he said.

"We continue to feel confident and feel we can keep on track with graduation," he said. "There are a lot of things to do."

There were 203 respondents to a recent school food survey and around 55 students would benefit directly with free daily breakfast and lunch at three locations to be identified soon, and in conjunction with HeadStart, Genisot said. The students will also be able to pick up the lunches at school.

"We will finalize those plans (Tuesday)," he said.

The sports programs and school-related activities are still canceled until further notice, he said.

Over the next week both the elementary and secondary faculty will meet to determine the virtual learning plan, he said, adding it is a little early to talk about virtual learning opportunities.

Credit approvals away from traditional classes must be approved by completing a waiver from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, he said.

"We are too early to begin that yet," Genisot said.

On a 4-0 vote, the board approved a recommendation of Steve Lombardo, elementary principal and athletic director, to enter into a two-year girls hockey co-operative contract with Northland Pines High School in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Board member Leslie Kolesar was not present.

Hurley girls will now be able to participate in a high school hockey program for the 2020 through the 2022 seasons, with one home game played in Ironwood.

"It is similar to the co-op agreement for hockey that we have for the Hurley boys with Ashland," Lombardo said.

The Hurley girls pay a $30 participation fee and cover their own equipment costs. Northland Pines covers ice time and transportation to and from games.

Donna Lotzer, a freshman Hurley student, was present at the meeting. She has been playing hockey for several years and said she'd stick with the program through her senior year.

"This interests me as a student athlete," Lotzer said at the meeting.

A proposed furniture vendor bid presentation from four companies was scheduled for Tuesday, March 24. The board decided that a virtual presentation was preferable for the out-of-town vendors and will be accessible for video view online by the public.

The board will go into executive session, and return to the full meeting to possibly approve one of the bids, also online.

"We can't control the number of people who will show up for the meeting and so we need to have it online," Genisot said. "For the next two or three months, we will plan to have a venue like that for meetings."

The board approved the first reading of the board member remote attendance for board meetings policy and moved the second reading to the April board meeting. The policy would allow a member to appear via electronic means such as phone or video conferencing twice a year, with more than one board member attending electronically for a meeting, and not being allowed to vote at the meeting, or participate in an executive session.

In other business, the board:

-Did not act on a landowner's offer to sell forestland adjacent to the school property.

-Moved the next regular board meeting from April 20 to April 27 to allow newly seated board members to be sworn in an to be seated members at their first meeting.

-Approved renewing the $14,000 audit contract with Wipfli LLC, for a savings of around $10,000, Genisot said.

-The board went into executive session regarding an employee performance evaluation. The board returned to regular session to close the meeting with no further action taken.