The Gainesville City School System is moving cautiously towards the fall semester that should start August 5, by giving a basic update on the students' return to face to face instruction, as well as approving a tentative budget and millage rate for Fiscal Year 2021.
While Superintendent Jeremy Williams said he expects students and staff alike to work on their flexibility skills this coming year, as they will likely move back and forth between being in school and working online, they remain optimistic that face to face instruction is possible.
The full return plan won't be released until next week, but Williams said they have had some teams working on different areas of student success and safety while students have been working from home.
Williams said the Facilities and Governance team has been working on the pandemic plan and health guidelines, Transportation is handling Access and Buildings and the Instruction and Wraparound team handled the management of students going back to school and staying on track. The Technology team checked the devices in inventory to make sure they'd be usable for students, since the Chromebooks approved in April for purchase were not going to be available by the beginning of the school year.
"A lot of the little things we do now will pay off down the road," Williams said. "We also wanted to be sure our interventions are consistent across schools and also vertically as well, elementary, middle and high. Looking at home remote or virtual instruction has factored in to the environment, as well as the mental health and inclusion opportunities that we're providing our kids."
Another thing under consideration is how vulnerable students will be able to maintain their studies, and students whose families may not want them to return to a potentially hazardous school setting. Williams said they're using multiple sources to monitor the situation, including the CDC, which organizes the virus into types of spread - minimal, moderate, severe.
"We hope to have a little more guidance between now and (next week) on what those specific terms mean for us as far as how we conduct school," said Williams. "The question I'm sure you have received as board members, I know I have received quite often is 'What does this mean about the school calendar?'"
Williams said while the school system will have to make changes this year and in the future, they are planning for face to face instruction but with the option to shift days to accommodate everyone's safety.
"What we're looking at doing is taking some of those first few days of school and turning them into open house days, to where our employees have the opportunity to interact with families on a smaller scale, make sure they have the information they need... but also to go through the safety protocols."
And, Virtual Academy options will be available for families who don't want to return to the school building.
In order for the school system to operate, they need to have the Fiscal Year 2021 budget ready to go. Williams went over a few specific points of the budget. For tax payers, the milage rate was tentatively set at 6.614, the same milage rate as last fiscal year. However it would not be a full rollback and therefore will require three public hearings.
While the budget is off track slightly, Williams said, due to the pandemic, they were fortunate enough to get a little more than 10% from the state coffers, even with Governor Brian Kemp's tight budget cuts. But, they will receive over 1 million dollars in CARES Act funding, and for teachers, STEP increases (increases for longevity, education upgrades, etc.) would still be honored and no furloughs were anticipated.
The final budget will be adopted at the July 20 meeting. The millage rate will be discussed at meetings on Monday, July 13 at 6 p.m.; Monday, July 20 at 11:30 a.m. and at 5 p.m. All of the meetings will be held at Gainesville High School
