The 2020-21 school year starts August 25th for Fremont County School District #1. Like the majority of the schools in Fremont County, District #1 will open in Tier 1, meaning in-person learning as much as possible, according to their State-approved Smart Start Plan.
District #1 Board Member Candidate and parent Sarah Reilley highlighted a few concerns at the end of last week in a letter sent to the School Board and County 10. After receiving this letter, County 10 reached out to District FCSD #1 Superintendent Dr. Dave Barker to see how these concerns are being addressed.
The first concern noted by Reilley is the use of face masks/coverings inside, “…Fremont County health orders say that when indoors, people need to be distanced 6 feet and wear masks. Masks are not optional by this order. With allowing schools to make masks optional when plexiglass is in place this not only violates Fremont County orders, but also ignores the CDC recommendation that plexiglass be used in conjunction with masks but not in place of.”
Barker replied to County 10’s inquiry today, August 24th. Here is what he said about the use of face coverings, “We will follow Wyoming Department of Health orders and guidelines, which includes the use of face coverings when 6 feet of separation is not possible.”
Reilley also brought up concerns about some of the preventative measures inside the buildings that have not been installed yet.
“…our district’s reopening plan includes proper ventilation in each classroom to prevent air circulating between rooms, but that is not in place yet, nor do all buildings have the plexiglass dividers in their possession yet.”
No specific date was provided in Barker’s response, he said “…while delivery of the permanent air filtering devices is taking longer than expected, temporary portable units have been shipped.”
Reilley also highlights in the letter that school-age students in Fremont County hold the highest number of COVID positive cases. You can read the full letter by clicking here.