Othello School District scrambles with more of staff in quarantine

OTHELLO — In the Othello School District, the number of staffers unavailable to be at work rose last week.

During a school board meeting on Monday, it was reported that on Friday, Nov. 20, 30 teachers and 42 classified staffers were quarantined. On the day of the meeting, that number had risen to 90.

When asked how classrooms were staffed last week, Sandra Villarreal, executive director of human resources for the school district, said that schools were getting creative, including putting principals in classrooms or handling the phones.

“We have paras (paraprofessionals) that have emergency certifications,” Villarreal said. “You do what you can to make it through the day. By Friday, we were really hurting. We had front offices not staffed.”

Villarreal estimates that of those staff members on quarantine, 40 of them are physically unable to work.

“We definitely have folks that are COVID-positive or that have symptoms that are waiting for results,” she said. “They’re trying to do as much as they can from home.”

This report came one day after the Othello School District was forced to return all classes to online learning by the standards set by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the CDC and local health district officials.

“Two of our elementary schools, Hiawatha and Scootney Springs, both had two cohort groups who were quarantined at the same time,” said Superintendent Chris Hurst, in a press release Sunday. “According to guidance from state and local officials, this is a milestone that requires the district to transition all students back to distance learning for a period of time.”

In an emergency board meeting on Monday, Nov. 16, the board voted to keep kindergarten through third-grade students in in-person classes until shut down by health authorities. Because of the now-mandated closures, all students will learn online through Dec. 4.

During the closure, school buildings will be open with limited staff. Meal pickups will also be available at Hiawatha Elementary, McFarland Middle School and Othello High School from 11 a.m. to noon on school days. Buses will deliver meals to select locations.

Before returning to in-person school, the district will assess the situation to ensure that staff and students can return safely.