Sauk Prairie School District to use hybrid model, with virtual only option

The Sauk Prairie School District will return to classes with a hybrid model this fall. The board approved the model five to one at the end of a marathon three hour meeting Monday night. Parents will still have the option to opt in to virtual only. About 12 to 15 percent of Sauk Prairie parents chose the virtual only option, according to registration data. Board members Richard Judge, James Isaacson, Richard Talmage, Steven Sprecher, and Dennis Virta voted for the measure. Tyler Erickson voted against. Board member mary Ann Marx was absent from the meeting. The measure included language specifying that administrators were to communicate plans to both students and staff. In addition, administration will have to determine punishment for students, staff, and visitors who do not comply with safety protocols. The Sauk Prairie hybrid model will have half the students attend in-person on “A” days of the week, and the other half learning from home. Students will switch places on “B” days. Assignments will be based on last name. Certain select students with special needs will attend the full week. Public comment was robust, with roughly six parents and one teacher speaking in favor of an online start. As the conversation moved closer to the vote, several teachers were called upon to speak to the board. District Administrator Jeff Wright spoke throughout the beginning of the meeting, laying out the three plans up for vote: in person, hybrid, and completely virtual.  Wright opened his comments at the meeting with a plea for Sauk Prairie residents to wear masks. “The only way were going to get kids back in school” is if residents wear masks, said Wright. “We won’t get kids in school until we get COVID out of Sauk Prairie.” He noted the rise in COVID-19 cases in Sauk Prairie over the past six weeks. On June 29 Sauk Prairie had 19 total cases; it now has 66. It saw the biggest jump of 32 cases in the two week period from July 21 to August 3. Since then the area has seen six new cases. Sauk County as a whole has seen cases per thousand jump from 1.6 to 6.92 over the same period. This equals 69.2 cases per ten thousand, according to Star News calculations. Cases per ten thousand is one of the metrics the District will use to track COVID infections. Wright said the District will use several metrics to determine whether the school stays open, and to guide choices for future models: Cases of the past 14 days, new cases per ten thousand, rate of community spread, and rate of COVID-like symptoms. The District has been and will be working closely with the Sauk County Health Department. Talmage initially made a motion for online only instructions for the first semester. A lengthy discussion followed in the wake of an amendment by Isaacson concerning what metrics to use and how to apply them. That motion was voted down, as was the motion for an online only start. The board then voted for a hybrid start. Over 250 residents attended virtually. Board members Richard Judge, James Isaacson, and Richard Talmage led the conversation throughout the meeting. Dennis Virta attended remotely and had microphone issues, so he communicated his comments and questions via text.