FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Officials in one of North Dakota’s largest school districts are discussing whether to have older children head back to classrooms, even as the state struggles with the worst outbreak of coronavirus in the nation.
A task force was formed when parents and others complained after the Fargo Public School District opted for distance learning. The task force is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss ideas for sending junior and senior high students back to class. Grade school students began a four-day-a-week classroom schedule last week.
A key member of the task force, Dr. Tracie Newman, is both a school board member and a Fargo pediatrician. She said that while data shows that local K-12 students have not proven to be COVID-19 superspreaders, the skyrocketing virus rates in the city and county could keep the students away.
“Adults kind of need to do their job,” Newman said. “We need people, if you want children back in school, to do the public engagement things we’re asking to help lower the numbers.’
State health officials on Sunday reported the fourth straight day of more than 1,100 positive tests, following a record high of 1,433 the day before. Cass County, where Fargo is located, leads the state with nearly 10,000 virus cases of the 45,000 statewide. North Dakota ranks first in the country for new cases per capita in the last two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.
“The data changes quickly during a pandemic and I am just trying to stay true to that,” Newman said. “I am just following the science.”
Newman said the task force would heed advice from experts at Fargo Cass Public Health and North Dakota State University.
Rupak Gandhi, the Fargo Public Schools superintendent, said that while in-person teaching “is always the goal,” the priority is protecting students and staff.
“Our decision and our plans to try to bring students back to in-person instruction seems very counterproductive to the numbers that are happening in our county,” Gandhi said. “I think that creates a sense of anxiety, a sense of fear. This is new for all of us.”
In issuing a citywide mask mandate, albeit with no penalties, Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney earlier this month cited increased hospitalizations and deaths, higher risk level designated by the state, an overwhelmed contact tracing operation and high level of community spread within Cass County.
Paula Thomas, 68, of Fargo, became infected with the coronavirus through a chain of events involving one of her relatives and described her virus symptoms as “really bad” for about 10 days. Although she believes many residents have done a poor job of following virus protocols, she is conflicted about whether students, including her grandchildren, should return to class.
“It’s really tough,” Thomas said. “My mind says keep them home, but it’s really hard for parents. A lot of parents are working and don’t have anywhere to take them. It’s really an issue and I can’t give a yes or no answer on that.”
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This story has been corrected to show that Fargo is one of North Dakota’s largest public school districts, not the largest.
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