Pocatello-Chubbuck School District extends soft closure to end of school year

EastIdahoNews.com file photo
POCATELLO (KPVI) — The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to extend its soft closure through the end of the school year because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Last week, the Idaho State Board of Education ordered that school buildings close for the rest of the year, but left local school districts the option to reopen their schools if they felt it was safe.
Pocatello-Chubbuck board trustees decided to stick with the state’s recommendation. One school board trustee called the option to close schools “the least disruptive path”.
A statement from Maggie Mann, the director of Southeastern Idaho Public Health, was read at the meeting. In the statement, Mann said to keep incidents of COVID-19 cases down, SIPH supports the continuation of remote learning for the rest of the school year. In the statement, Mann calls this the “healthiest and safest option for the long run.”
The decision means 31 days of remote learning for students and teachers.
School district employees handed out over 7,100 chrome books to students for distance-learning last week.
The board opted to postpone a decision on high school graduation until May 1.
The Idaho High School Activities Association will make a decision Friday on whether to recommend suspending spring sports for the rest of the year. The board will make its decision after that recommendation is decided. The importance of getting participation fees back into the hands of parents as soon as possible was discussed.
Source: eastidahonews.com