Several School Districts Vote On Delaying Classes
Jul 30, 2020, 7:37 AM | Updated: 2:29 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Several school districts in Utah on Wednesday voted to delay the first day of school, while others are still in the decision-making phase of how to proceed with classes.
The Salt Lake School District will be voting today on one of those decisions. In the Alpine School District, officials have given parents some more time to let educators know if their children will be attending class in person or online.
Salt Lake School District
The Salt Lake School District will have its final vote on its plan to reopen schools.
Board members already voted to delay school until Sept. 8. On Thursday, they will vote on whether classes will be in-person or online. Salt Lake City is the only Utah city still in the “orange,” or moderate COVID-19 risk. And Weber and Iron County districts have both voted to push back the first day of school.
Gov. Gary Herbert provided schools in Salt Lake City with an exception so they could open for class while still in the moderate phase. However, in recent weeks, parents and teachers have protested on both sides of the reopening debate.
Alpine School District
Parents in the state’s largest school district have some extra time to declare whether their children will be learning in person or at home this year.
The Alpine School District extended its deadline to decide until 3 p.m. Thursday. Parents can declare one of three options for their students: returning in person, a blend of online and at-school learning, or all online.
District leaders said they hope parents will make those decisions and officially declare so officials will know how to staff classes and programs.
Weber School District
The Ogden School Board voted Wednesday to delay the start of the school year by one week.
Students will now begin class on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Kindergartners will begin school on Sept. 2.
The first three days of school in August will be half days so that teachers can use the time to evaluate the school’s safety protocols.
Iron County School District
The Iron County School District is also pushing back its start date. District officials said the reason is that they’re still trying to get cleaning supplies and ensure student and teacher safety.
Classes will now begin Tuesday, Aug. 25, which is two weeks after the original start time.
Administrators said they still need sanitizing wipes, sanitizer stations, face coverings for students, personal protective equipment, and signage for traffic.
School officials said they want to make sure they’re prepared so there’s no delay for students. They also said they are giving their principals more time to prepare with teachers.
