PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 that prompted SAD 1 to close its schools on Dec. 4 appear to have come from transmission outside of the schools, the district’s board of directors learned in a meeting on Wednesday.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials had told the district that the spread did not appear to be because of lack of adherence to COVID-19 protocols in district schools, but because of the rapid rise in community transmission across Aroostook County, according to Superintendent Ben Greenlaw.
“A lot of it was people picking it up outside of school,” Greenlaw said.
The meeting, the board’s first since the school closures, was broadcast live over Youtube via Zoom. Greenlaw and some board members broadcast from Presque Isle High School, while several board members appeared remotely. It was the first remote SAD 1 meeting since May, reflecting the spike in COVID-19 cases across Aroostook County.
Much had changed since November’s board meeting: Zippel Elementary closed Dec. 3 to in-person learning due to a staff member testing positive for COVID-19, then SAD 1 announced that all its schools would go fully remote on Dec. 4 after two more COVID-19 cases were found in the district.
That remote learning period was extended from a week to a month after COVID-19 outbreaks were discovered at Zippel and Presque Isle High School.
Since Dec. 10, the total number of recent cases in the district had risen from 10 to 14: seven at Zippel (up from five on Dec. 10), four at Presque Isle High School, two at Presque Isle Middle School (up from one on Dec. 10) and one at Mapleton Elementary School (up from zero on Dec. 10).
Greenlaw — who has long emphasized the importance of in-person learning — continued to advocate that position, but said the closings had been necessary to maintain the safety of students and staff.
There were 216 active COVID-19 cases in Aroostook County at the end of Dec. 16, according to Maine CDC data, up from 37 on Nov. 30.
Greenlaw said the district planned for students and staff to return to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 4, though that is contingent on there not being a “significant increase” in community spread, and enough staff members being available to teach in-person.
The lengthy quarantine periods for staff who were close contacts of district cases was among the reasons the district decided to go fully remote, Greenlaw said.
Greenlaw said there would be more focus than ever on social distancing and masking protocols when school resumes. He said staff would also be mindful of new state guidelines, such as restricting conversation and remaining six feet apart during mask breaks.
The district has worked to assist students who do not have reliable internet access during the remote learning period, handing out 100 hotspot devices to families. Lack of internet access can hamper student experience with remote education, especially in the more rural sections of the Presque Isle area.
As is customary for the last meeting of the year, the board also held some leadership votes for the new year: Chair Lucy Richard and Vice Chair Jim Bubar were both re-elected unanimously.
The board also elected three members to seats on the finance committee from a slate of four candidates. Bubar (who received 15 votes), Curtis Culberson (also 15) and Steve Sutter (nine) were all elected to the committee. Terry Sandusky (7 votes) missed the threshold.
SAD 1 Assistant Superintendent for Business Clinton Deschene also resigned from his position after six years, receiving well wishes from the rest of the board.
In an interview after the meeting, Deschene — who previously served as city manager of Auburn and town manager of Hermon — said he would be starting a rural-focused economic and community development project in Presque Isle. He planned on releasing more details about the venture in the coming weeks.
Robert Cawley, whose term on the school board is ending after 17 years, was also presented with a plaque by Richard for his service to the district.
The next school board meeting will be on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 5:30 p.m. It is slated to be held at Presque Isle High School, though Richard said that could potentially change.
