The Winfield USD 465 Board of Education voted 7-0 Monday night to proceed with in-person classes for the start of school on Sept. 9 and to stay on schedule for sports and activities with limited fan attendance and mask requirements.
The school board looked at three options for classes during its meeting, which was also available to listen into via Zoom.
Level I allows for in-person classes for students not enrolled in remote learning. Level II is a hybrid model that splits students into two groups with each group exchanging days in school and days for remote learning. Level III is remote learning for all students.
The board cited Cowley County Public Health Officer Thomas Langer’s recommendation in voting for in-person classes to start school.
The board said that according to the City-Cowley County Health Department, 44 people within the school district have tested positive for COVID-19 since March. Of that total, 18 have tested positive since Aug. 1 and 10 cases are active.
The board said none of the cases involve anyone of “student-age.”
The board said Langer advised that cases within USD 465 are low, despite the uptick in cases countywide.
The board said it would adjust as needed, and that increases in cases could move the board to revisit a hybrid model or remote learning for all students if there is a dramatic increase in district-wide cases, especially if that number rises above 100.
The board also urged parents to be ready and have a plan for the hybrid model if needed.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported Monday afternoon that overall, 240 positive cases have been confirmed in Cowley County since a national emergency proclamation was issued by the White House on March 13.
The City-Cowley County Health Department website however, reported Monday evening 226 positive cases with 41 active and 182 recoveries.
A vast majority of cases have been reported in Ark City, according to the health department.
The Ark City USD 470 School Board voted on Aug. 10 to start school with a hybrid model.
County deaths remain at three, with the latest reported Friday.
So far, 3,609 people have been tested in the county since March. Cowley County has a population of 34,908 people as of July 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Statewide, KDHE reported 38,401 cases since March in its latest tally Monday. Hospitalizations across the state have now totaled 2, 183, deaths no number 426 and 348.556 tests have shown negative results.
In total, 386,957 tests have been administered in Kansas so far– or, roughly enough for 13 percent of the state’s population of 2.9 million.
Kay County, Oklahoma, now totals 288 cases since the pandemic began and remains at 11 deaths.
Statewide, 52,522 cases have been confirmed since March, along with 730 deaths.
Official testing numbers for Oklahoma are not widely available, however, an independent tracking website operated by The Atlantic Monthly, dubbed the “The COVID Tracking Project,” reports 812,857 tests have been performed so far, which amounts to 21 percent of the state’s residents. Oklahoma’s population numbers 3.9 million.
