Greater Latrobe eyes late September return to classroom for high school students

Students at Greater Latrobe Junior High and Senior High School will have the option of returning to in-person classes five days per week beginning Sept. 28.

The school board this week voted 6-2 to switch to that educational plan, from a hybrid combination of in-person and online instruction that has been in place for about two weeks. District officials cited the relatively low incidence of covid-19 cases in Westmoreland County and the endorsement of a panel of local medical professionals as factors helping to prompt the switch.

Superintendent Georgia Teppert mentioned “the importance of students receiving face-to-face instruction” while “building positive, caring relationships with teachers, staff members and classmates.” A requirement for wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing inside district buildings will continue.

School board President Dr. Mike Zorch, a retired emergency room physician, voted for the switch to full-time attendance at secondary buildings, as did Steven LoCascio, Merle Musick, William Palmer, Susan Mains and Eric Hauser. Heidi Kozar and Cathy Sarraf were opposed. Paul McCommons was absent.

“I think the kids need to go back to school,” said Zorch, while noting that the covid-19 pandemic “is real. People do die. People do get sick. We’re trying to protect people. That’s why we’re moving slowly and cautiously.”

There will be no change for students at Greater Latrobe’s three elementary schools, where full-time classroom instruction has been offered since the beginning of the school years.

While the hybrid option for secondary students will be dropped, Teppert said any family who wishes may continue to opt for full-time online instruction through the district. Unless they notify their school counselor otherwise, students who have been receiving hybrid instruction will be assumed to want full-time classroom learning.

Kozar expressed doubt about the ability of high school students to maintain an adequate social distance from each other, because of larger class sizes. She said she’s particularly concerned about proper ventilation at the junior high, where many rooms lack windows.

“I don’t believe putting 32 students in a small classroom in the junior high is going to lead to a good outcome,” she said.

Kurt Thomas, director of operations and planning, said district schools’ HVAC systems are being used to regularly pump fresh air from outside into classrooms. He said he plans at October’s meeting to present a proposal for a more advanced air treatment system capable of rendering bacteria and viruses inactive.

Senior High Principal Jon Mains noted the district already had plans for full-time classroom instruction prepared when changes in guidance from state officials prompted a switch to hybrid instruction for secondary students in the weeks before classes resumed.

There are several large spaces at the high school that can be used for larger class groups, he said, while students are being encouraged to eat meals outdoors as long as temperatures allow. An outdoor tent can accommodate about 100 students.

Kozar and Sarraf also voiced concern for the health of older faculty and staff, who may be more at risk for contracting the covid-19 virus and suffering resulting medical complications.

Sarraf said she was uncomfortable voting on a plan that had been introduced to the board earlier the same day without getting input from the Greater Latrobe faculty and teachers’ union.

Assistant Superintendent Mike Porembka assured her that he’d spoken with the teacher’s union president and suggested that at least 80% of the faculty favor the full-time return to classrooms.

Hauser voted for the full-time return to the classroom but advocated caution in moving forward. “If I feel a little uneasy about something, I’m going to back off,” he said.

Before school resumed, Teppert reported the majority of district parents who responded to a survey indicated they wanted their children to return to full-time in-person instruction.

A few parents who spoke at Tuesday’s school board meeting voiced similar sentiments but pressed district officials to do even more to make students’ learning experience as close to the pre-pandemic normal as possible.

Shawn Lazeski of Latrobe, who has two children attending high school, questioned the district caveat that it could retreat from in-person instruction back to hybrid or online options in the event of a local surge in covid-19 cases.

“I’m concerned, as soon as we get one or two (covid-19) cases, people are going to go right back to the hybrid,” Lazeski said. “The hybrid stuff is not working for our children.”

Guidelines for game attendance

Lazeski also argued that the district should allow more than 250 people to attend football games and other high school sporting events in light of a judge’s ruling this week that Gov. Tom Wolf had overstepped his authority in declaring pandemic-related restrictions on public gatherings.

District Solicitor Ned Nakles said it’s unclear that the ruling would apply to high school sports. With an appeal of the ruling expected, he noted it wouldn’t be wise for the district to base policies on an uncertain legal outcome.

Nakles said Greater Latrobe could risk having a sports program penalized if it were to defy guidance from state health and education officials or the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association when hosting a competitive event.

District officials also are monitoring the progress of proposed state legislation that would give school districts the ability to set their own guidelines governing school events.

For now, Porembka said, the district hosting a sporting event may have 180 participants present while the visiting team may have 70 people on hand.

Greater Latrobe won’t have to make that call for its football program until Sept. 25, when it’s scheduled to host Upper St. Clair for the season’s first home game at Memorial Stadium. Teppert said the district would like, when it becomes possible, to provide wristbands to parents of players so they could attend games — along with officials, cheerleaders and marching band members. For the time being, the district doesn’t foresee opening games for the general public to attend as spectators.