CCUSD Governing Board Mtg. 08/31/2020

001all right good evening i'd like to call to order this special meeting of the governing board of the cave creek unified school district number 93. today is monday august 31st 2020 roll call i see that the five members of the governing board are here and the members um of our executive leadership team minus dr miller is that correct dr burdick you can just do a head nod okay uh item 1.3 formal adoption the agenda do i have a motion to approve the agenda as presented so moved second we have motion a second to approve as presented remember brown i busby hi hatcher i am an i rich hi item 1.4 the governing board secretary review comments submitted by members of the public miss skydo i i'm going to assume we have members we have comments

002from the public yes president hill okay i will come back to that um in a minute uh item 1.5 if you join me in the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all because we do have comments i'll go to item2 call to the public according to ars 38-431.01 h governing board members may not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during an open call to the public the only allowable responses a governing board member may make are one board member may respond if there is direct criticism of the board member two board member may direct staff to look into a matter or three board member can ask

003to have this item placed on a future agenda speakers need to be mindful what they say when presenting to the board inappropriate comments could be considered slanderous slanderous item three we have no presentations information or reports so item 4.1 resolution in the cave creek unified school district number 93 approving the designation of the applicant's agent form submission the arizona department of emergency and military affairs presented by mr elite thank you president hill members of the board dr burdick this is a resolution that we were notified that the governing board needs to approve to apply for the funding for the demo of public assistance this is the department of emergency management through the state and requires the that a district designee uh and an applicant's agent be uh called out and the administration would recommend that

004the governing board take the following action to move that the governing board approved the resolution of the cave creek unified school district number 93 approving the designation of the applicant's form submission to the arizona department of emergency and military affairs as presented so moved brown second buzzfeed any discussion or questions mr leedy do you have any kind of a time frame when we may see any kind of funding um remember brown this is um this is open so uh the way the sequence of events is going to work is that we've applied for the esser grant and we've uh received substantial approv approval for the esser grant we're now working on the enrollment stability grant this week we're putting the budget together for that and it will be submitted by friday and then we're going

005to start looking at projects this is a reimbursement account and we get 75 percent of the amount for the the items that are qualified for the fema grant so it it's open so it's as needed so it's basically the relief valve if you will for expenditures after uh we load up the the esr grant and the esg very good um this isn't really an issue just if we approve this can we change my name from board president to board president we're just missing some ours in the certification oh sure it's just a spelling error sure i was just mentioning that i don't have any questions any other questions or comments okay we have a motion in a second to approve the item as presented remember rich hi uh i'm an eye hatcher i busby brown

006hi okay item 4.2 consideration of the maricopa county department of public health mcd metrics were safe to return to in-person school i'm going to assume that we have comments is that correct moscato yes president how many we have 149 comments president hill okay so um based on that uh for one i'm letting the board know that as soon as we are done with public comments we are going to take a five-minute break because we're going to be here a while for policy bedh public participation at board meetings there are some guidelines given to me as president under item c if considered necessary the president shall set a time limit on the length of the comment period in order to ensure that each individual has an opportunity to address the board the president may also set

007a time limit for individual speakers i'm going to consider this necessary due to the number of comments i feel though that every comment has a right to be heard however i'm going to limit it to a one minute time frame instead of three in order that this is going to be several hours of comments even at the one minute mark but because i don't want to eliminate anyone's ability to have their voices heard i am going to limit to one minute which is my prerogative as president so my advice to those reading is um read quickly i mean read well but read quickly and then when you hit the minute mark please finish the sentence let us know that we've hit the minute and we'll move on for those of us that are listening to

008the comments um please turn off mute your your microphones so um we don't have any uh paper wrestling and stuff like that so with that being said um let's go with the comments everyone else mute please okay the first comment is from jalen smith of scottsdale i would like to let you know that our family is 100 in favor of keeping the school reopening date with that was originally set for september 8th we have two senior boys at cactus shadows one biological and one foster child as a ccusd family we are in agreement with the cdc the academy of pediatrics and the arizona department of child safety in their call for in-person classes as a foster family we joined the director of the arizona department of child safety mike faust in the belief that children

009and youth are seeking normalcy and children benefit from the engagement associated with traditional learning formats despite the best efforts made by ccusd for online learning it is a poor replacement for learning and intervention that takes place in a traditional classroom through the blessing of sharing our lives with our foster son we know how crucial of a role teachers in schools have played in his life often being the only stability he had along the way the impact of teachers in the classroom cannot be denied in the life of our foster son and the lives of other vulnerable children we are grieving with the thought of how many children are missing the stability and possibility life-saving intervention right now reopening the schools for in-person learning is what is best for our children and reopening on the data's

010promise further demonstrates the district's commitment to honor their word to families and to best serve the community's children the next comment is from molly gum of cave creek i am a ccusd teacher who is dedicated to my students and puts my heart and soul into educating and supporting them teaching is my calling and there is nowhere else i'd rather be than cactus shadows classroom with my students that being said is my belief that it is not safe to do so at this time according to the academy of pediatrics arizona has the highest rate of pediatric covet cases in the country arizona was able to keep its cases down while stay-at-home measures were in place within two weeks of rolling back those measures cases exploded and we reached in upwards of five thousand cases in a

011single day at our worst cases declined again when some measures were put back in place sending students back to packed classrooms especially at the high school will most likely lead to another surging cases this is already happening at high schools and universities across the country why would cactus shadows be any different students are shoulder to shoulder during passing period and classroom size do not allow for adequate distancing when there are 35 students to a class the district has stated that it does not have the finances or means to enact social distancing measures the high school is at even greater risk due to a large student body high school teachers have more than 200 students circulating through their rooms each day a student or teacher that gets covered will result in a mandatory 10-day quarantine that

012will disrupt classroom instruction on both ends how is that sustainable how will we have enough subs to compensate how will we make up for 10 days of lost instruction how will students make up 10 days of lost instruction on all their classes it'll be a disaster lives are at stake here the safety of our students teachers and community is at stake here we all want to be back in school and while virtual learning is not ideal human lives must be the priority please choose the following please choose to follow the metrics rather than arbitrarily opening on september 8th no the next comment i'm sorry president hill we're having a timer issue the next um comment is from shannon canales of cave creek the argument stating that we need to worry about 67 other zip codes

013before reopening our district was not the intent of the matrix matrix outlined in mcdph or azdhs the matrix states recommendations for individual districts based on the marks for that district and that district alone cc usd currently meets green in two of the three benchmarks with the final benchmark within reach the rate of cases per 100 people dropped in half from the week prior reading and projections only show it to continue to decline at the same rate going forward schools need to reopen some children families have already chosen to continue with virtual learning so the fear of the classroom crowning at cshs will be misplaced the whole valley is looking better nurses are being cancelled from their shifts again for low census and we have to shut down the covid plus only units at the valley

014hospitals and replace them with mixed units once again we need to get some normalcy back for our children not reopening schools for a hybrid option would be based on irrational emotional driven decision making and not science that's the end of that comment the next comment is from chris feasel scottsdale it is time for the students to go back to school the american academy of pediatrics and the cdc guidelines supports students returning to school and the maricopa county metrics for safe return are close enough to support this as well our children need to be present in school with their teachers and friends while online learning this fall has been much better than whatever it was we got in the spring nothing compares to in-person learning the students misinteracting with their teachers and playing with their friends

015and need to get back into school to make up for whatever lost learning they missed on while being away my third grader went to six weeks of camp this summer the students there wore masks washed hands and everyone followed the guidelines there were no reported outbreaks the same can be done in the schools we are informed and believe that the teachers have been back at school doing the remote learning from some time now with no outbreaks there is no reason to keep the students home anymore all of us parents are requesting our children are allowed back in the classroom on september 8th that includes that concludes that comment the next comment is from chris and miriam walker of cave creek as a parent highly engaged in the lives of families and students on all levels

016here in cave creek i write to you to hear both my family's perspective and families we spend time with often we recognize the efforts you have made on behalf of our district we understand it is a thankless job and you've stayed the course we felt it is important why we share why we believe school should open as planned on september 8th our children need your advocacy advocacy their physical mental and social health matter in times like these even more so and so it's the freedom of choice for our children i'd like to focus on since march the only group that has been denied their freedom locked up in an online world with no real interaction or learning from a classroom setting has been our children fear overpowered educational best practices research proves active interaction is

017necessary teachers are heroes to our children as an educator both myself and my wife we recognize teachers needed for a time remote education and that season has passed teachers and parents alike are out in the public at restaurants golfing and exercising that is time on that comment the next comment is from catherine reeve of scottsdale as a parent of a ccusd student and a very eager soon-to-be pre-k student who will also go to a ccusd school i cannot express enough my desire for my kids to get into their classroom our online model is a good temporary solution and i applaud the district admin and our amazing teachers for pulling this together i want my kids in school as i work from home and it is nearly impossible right now my kids need to be in

018school because they aren't doing as well at this format however we cannot return to school hastily just because of these reasons i do not support our children and teachers being guinea pigs for this public health experiment and cannot imagine a worse situation than finally getting kids back into their classrooms only to close again as schools across this country and state reopen we are seeing mixed results and i i cannot put my kids through the heartbreak of having to leave school again because we've rushed our return while metrics suggests things are on the right path we have seen before how relaxing too soon only leads to much worse outcome i want my kids back in school that's the end of time for that comment the next comment is from jennifer warner of scottsdale dear boarding community

019as a ccusd parent a former critical care nurse for 10 years and a present anesthesia provider for the past 15 years i write to you with what i have learned over the past several months the suggestions for safe reopening i will write in bullet points for the sake of time the virus is unlike any we have dealt with in recent history with potentially life long lasting effects that are not yet understood anyone at any age can become critically ill very quickly as we all know it does not affect children as severe or as often they they are carriers and can affect others around them while being asymptomatic many people with co-existing illnesses cannot risk being infected the virus is going to be present circulating throughout the world indefinitely and we need to find ways to

020mitigate its effects by limiting its spread in our community harvard university has done extensive research and has connect come up with reasonable questions that should be answered prior to returning in person please consider a public answer to most of these prior in return that is the time on that comment next comment is from steve antonia sweeney of cave creek i'm a concerned parent with two children in ccusd it is imperative they return to school starting september 8 for the following reasons classroom instruction is a time-proven method for children's learning socialization and long-term mental and physical health where are the studies that prove your current teaching method is effective please cite references what professional medical associations will you base your decision on name them keeping my kids focused on a zoom classroom session is getting more

021difficult each day kids are easily distracted making learning more difficult the curriculum is substandard which i assume was done to fit into a quote one-size-fits-all end-quote zoom situation socialization including playing with peers is extremely important and they are getting none under the current circumstances do you know you are not doing long-term harm to our kids by not allowing them back into the classroom if you decide not to return to school are you doing what's best for the children or listening to the teachers union be specific site references if the board decides to continue keeping classrooms closed that is time on that comment the next comment is from eb eichmann of scottsdale dutch superintendent verdict and board members i'm a parent of a fourth grader who is concerned about ccusd's reopening plans i am writing to

022ask you to prioritize some form of reopening school buildings rather than all remote learning the importance of in-person learning is outlined on cdc's website quote aside from a child's home no other setting has more influence on a child's health and well-being than their school the in-person school environment does the following provides educational instruction supports the development of social emotional skills creates a safe environment for learning addresses nutritional needs and facilitates physical activity end quote quote coven 19 and children the best available evidence indicates that covet 19 poses relatively low risks to school-age children children appear to be at lower risk for contracting covid19 compared to adults end quote quote educational instruction extended school closure is harmful to children it can lead to severe learning loss and the need for in-person instruction is particularly important for

023students with heightened behavioral needs that's time on that comment the next comment is from kelly demos of scottsdale in reference to item 4.2 on the board agenda 831 i have appreciated the hard work and dedication of teachers and staff to provide distance learning to our students i am fortunate and have very bright disciplined and dedicated children and have really had no involvement in their schoolwork during this time however just like all of us the situation is finally beginning to take a toll on them mentally they are more introverted and the zoom platform makes them feel like the center of attention and put on the spot they miss their friends and even the opportunity to interact with teachers i have a senior and an eighth grader my senior has missed out on being able to interact

024with teachers that would help those writing letters of recommendations have a better understanding of who he is as a student and person as a senior he has had so many other roadblocks occur during this time testing school visits recruiting opportunities i it would help tremendously to have the support of teacher staff and friends which doing from a distance is very uncomfortable for him my eighth grader has been a severe asthmatic most of his life but and that is time on that comment dr burdick will read the next 10 comments president hill the first comment is from blair roberts from cave creek my name is blair roberts i have been a mother in the cave creek unified school district for 11 years my children have been to desert willow northern trails now cactus shadows i am

025frustrated with the outcome of this online schooling a few weeks in i had to write the principle of cactus shadows asking them if four to eight minutes of class time was okay for the online protocol of class in one week my 11th grader's son had three classes no teacher no subs and then another teacher decided it was a good time to drive her son to school during her teaching time gave the kids a packet and logged out the next day she logged in for eight minutes gave the kids some work and told them if they needed help they could form a group to help each other after class i posted this on our three community bulletin boards to see if anyone else was having this problem and by the comments there were many the next

026comment is from jocelyn haddock of cave creek first of first i would like to thank cc usd 93 administration and staff for working tirelessly to provide cave children with virtual learning the hard work out into creating the online platform exceeded our family's expectations that being said our kids still need to be physically in the classroom i have a 10th grade student at cactus shadows and as i type this she has spent nearly seven hours in a room staring at a screen my daughter is lucky that i can adjust my working hours to make sure she eats stretches and more importantly doesn't feel alone many working parents aren't as fortunate and their children are left alone for hours unattended even as high school students are more self-sufficient they still need guidance for some the school campus

027is their only lifeline for social interaction and a decent meal during the day when the pandemic started businesses and people were labeled essential or non-essential i was deemed non-essential and my husband deemed essential we were grateful that my husband's business that employs nearly 200 people could keep operating even with the knowledge that our exposure to covet 19 would be greater as soon as the lockdown lifted i went back to work as a hairdresser and that is time for that comment the next comment is from laura tracino from scottsdale we have three children in the cave creek unified school district and are highly opposed for pushing back the start date for in-person learning our children have felt the side effects of distancing for almost six months now and we as a district need to recognize the

028mental health effect it's having on our kids children do not have the same coping mechanisms and understanding we do as adults to successfully handle this amount of social disconnect from their peers moreover while we believe that ccusd teachers are performing to the best of their abilities with distance learning platforms the fact is that there is another large disconnect occurring from not being physically in the classroom the invaluable teacher-student relationships that should have already had a solid foundation at this point in the school year cannot be formed as they would be from behind computer screens additionally the distractions of a learn from home environment are costing the kids valuable learning time that cannot be made up so the sooner the students are back in the classroom setting the better off they will be we have faith

029in ccusd the precautions have been put in place to the best of their ability that is the end of time for that comment the next comment is from bill kaiser from cave creek parents and kids want school to start on september 8th these kids need to be in school in person there's no good reason not to the next comment is from chris hazel tyne from cave creek dear president hill governing board members and dr burdick i utterly understand the weight of decisions that you are bearing with regard to opening our district schools i know that you are taking every consideration seriously as you debate this issue with yourselves and amongst each other i ask in your deliberations that you take into consideration several factors that as a veteran teacher of ccusd i feel are important

030and worthy of thought please consider what we have seen nationally with school districts that open prematurely for face-to-face instruction only to be summarily shut down due to viral outbreaks namely consider the schools in georgia mississippi north carolina tennessee and indiana furthermore please consider rigidly adhering to the doh metric requirements recommended by governor ducey specifically that we as a school district are green in all three metrics for 14 consecutive days before determining that it is safe for students and staff to return to school finally i strongly urge you to extend the return to school day from september 8th until it's safe to return again as determined by being green that is the end of time the next comment is from lucille forel and from scottsdale hello i would like to urge the board to keep the

031date of return to school in person to september 8th 2020 as scheduled in on nutshells children need in-person instruction they need the structure of a school schedule they need to learn from their teachers other than just via zoom they also need the social benefits and physical activities that school offers even the cdc wrote in an article about the importance of reopening america's schools this fall on july 27 2020 available on their website i trust that my daughter's school desert sun academy will follow protocols to keep students and teachers as safe as they possibly can i understand that there will be risks involved with sending my kids to in-person school but i am willing to take these risks other families are worried about going back to school in person for health or personal reasons which i

032respect they can opt for online instruction in addition to the fact that i believe children need in-person instruction i am a single working mother it has been very challenging and that is the end of time for that comment next is patricia miller of cave creek my husband and i have two kids enrolled in ccusd as parents who have supported our schools it is becoming more and more disheartening to see that our kids are getting mixed up in the politics of opening up our schools many of us parents want what is best for the kids and don't have other agendas please consider putting politics aside and working in the best interests of our community and kids now that the numbers are similar to what they were just before the schools closed in march i believe parents

033should have a choice the numbers will never be zero it will be impossible in many ways to reach green level for all three categories cases positivity and covet-like illness from what i have read the guidelines for these benchmarks are a two-week decline in average cases or less than 10 per 100 000 this isn't either or which means we're currently on the border of entering green for cases life must go on eventually and these are guidelines not mandates the district has to make some decisions and since we are minimal community spread in and around ccusd and schools are essential it is time to get prepared for a safe reopening that is time on that comment the next comment is from valerie white of scottsdale how long can we continue to hide from a virus that is

034here to stay let families choose for themselves allowing those who have personal health concerns to learn remotely from home while allowing those that chose in-person learning to return to the classroom i have two kids at cactus shadows high school we certainly have our struggles with online learning this is definitely not an ideal situation for focused learning making the grades or preparing them for college our kids need the classroom and peer interaction they sit on computer screens all day long only to have to stare at their screens a few hours more to attempt their homework queen creek schools scottsdale christian academy american leadership academy and some great heart schools have already opened successfully businesses gyms including our local ymca up the street restaurants and even bars have opened the ymca has been open to children this

035entire time since march successfully kids are at the lowest risk how much longer do we have to hide from a virus that is here to stay what are we waiting for next is from emily petty from cave creek thank you for addressing public comments on the issue of how and when to safely reopen schools i would like to urge the board to commit to following the benchmarks put out by maricopa county department of health when they make the crucial decision about when to send csusd kids and teachers back to the classroom just as all of the bordering school districts have done many ccusd families and teachers live beyond the district borders and so that factor must also be taken into consideration when deciding when and how to reopen deer valley has stated that the earliest

036date they'll begin in person instruction would be october 5th dear valley has also explored hybrid options and a staggered start date by grade which i would encourage csusd to look into as well in order to serve those children most at risk as soon as possible paradise valley says the earliest return to in-person learning would be early to mid-october we have also committed to providing families and staff with transition time before moving to in-person learning scottsdale has committed to adhering to county metrics that is the end of time for that comment the next comment is from christina scott of scottsdale i am the parent of an eighth grader at snoring trails and a third grader at horseshoe trails after witnessing and working with canvas and zoom for several weeks of virtual school it is clearly in

037the best interest of the children that in-person school resumes on september 8th our district has had adequate time to prepare for return to school over the last five months there is no reason this should not happen virtual school does not work for a third grader and it is not an adequate school replacement for any student of any age my third grader is completely unable to focus on the pre-recorded videos and zooms and has been brought to tears multiple times over the mundane cycle of zoom meetings and online assignments he cannot manage the computer programs and work on his own which means that i am unable to attend to my job and has impacted our family i could not simply drop him off at a child care center where he could do his work on his

038own as he is young and on an iep as are many of his third great friends at horseshoe trails i spend the entire morning and that is the end of that comment and the next comments will come from dr pratt all right the next comment is from elizabeth ehrlich from cave creek let our children start in-person learning on september 8th 2020. the district offered two learning options online learning or distance learning moving back to in person those who chose distance want our children in person if you wait till october 12th as recommended by superintendent burdick and the metrics and the metrics are not green green green then what delay further rip the band-aid off and start in person in september kicking this can down the road doesn't solve anything it just frustrates parents who want

039or need their child back in school these parents who enrolled their child in distance and are not ready for in-person can transition their child to online don't force the rest of us to continue with this distance crap listen to us parents of ccosd distance learning students this is who you need to represent when you are voting not the community at large not superintendent burdick su represent us the parents that voted for you and have chosen to keep our kids in ccosd brick and mortar that's the end of that time the next comment is from christy pine from cave creek dear debbie my first and fondest memory of you is from the morning my husband died my son still wanted to go to his kinder thanksgiving performance at lmes so i went as well there was

040an awkward silence around me but you came right up gave me a big hug and your condolences many times throughout these past nine years i've wanted to call you about a teacher or a principal or something i just didn't think was right but then i would think about how busy you must be and that you have over 2000 other families you are dealing with so i wouldn't bother you i can no longer stay silent however what are you going to do what you are about to do is wrong not sending these kids back to school is just wrong i could talk about the statistics and the numbers which many are currently being questioned as to their authenticity i could remind you that over 80 percent of your constituents voted to go back to on-site learning

041but you know that as well so i will tell you about my personal experience instead my son sits like a zombie in front of his computer all day as teachers struggle with the technology struggle with getting attendance right and that's the end of time on that comment the next comment is from maribel pine from cave creek drcc usd parents teachers students staff and more as you are blatantly aware our community has as well as communities globally are currently being affected by covert 19 pandemic as a student of cactus shadows high school and a citizen of cave creek my life as well as the lives around me have been affected tremendously and it's time that we as community come together and face the real issues that are occurring due to this disease i firmly believe that

042this outbreak has been purely motivated by political ideology and not genuine concern genuine concern for the public's health and safety i believe this is this because i've done my own research on the topic countless times finding and processing new information that consistently contradicts itself on countless on one side of the political spectrum there's news sources that post headlines and articles to instill incite fear in its readers instead of informing the public of what's really happening in our country within other sources i've found real facts from real doctors and hundreds of statements and that's the end of time on that one the next comment is from helene raphael from cave creek as a parent of two children in the district i'm writing you with the greatest admiration of for the leadership that you have shown you

043have given parents choice of education in this crisis i implore you to continue that leadership by using the data science and research as your own guideline as your guideline we are ready to reopen our district on september 8th all the data shows this the maricopa county dashboard has us at the hybrid approved level since early august this is a guideline that we have met for weeks now we must take the recommendations by several well-known organizations that in-person learning provides mental social and physical benefits for the children including the american academy of pediatrics cdc and others the future of our children's well-being is at stake our governor is boasting the lowest per person infection rate in the nation i hope that you make this choice without any further delay and put cave creek on the national

044map for its thought leadership that's the end of that comment the next comment is from lisa stevenson from scottsdale hi board please let our kiddos return i have two high schoolers and they need to be with their friends and learning in person from their wonderful hard working teachers numbers are down and every and everywhere is opening if all are allowed to go to the movies outside school club sports shopping restaurants and gyms then school return is a must after all school is more important than all of these my kids have always enjoyed going to school i'm worried that if they continue to stay home for too long they are going to lose their desire to even want to go and that would be the saddest outcome of all thank you all so much for your

045hard work and dedication to ccosd i know that this is a difficult decision to be forced to make lisa stevenson that's the end of that comment the next comment is from don um carancy from cave creek schools must open our kids are going to be so far behind academically and socially from something that doesn't even have an effect on our kids please open our schools that's the end of that comment the next comment is from giovanni carranzi cave creek our open our schools the damage we are doing to our children is real and a much bigger threat than covet ever was or will be what are we doing if we are supposed to listen to or go by the science then we know this is not something that is a problem for kids open our

046schools that's the end of that comment the next comment is from matt milenovich from cave creek please do not push back the reopening date any further the well-being of our students is at risk we do not have to be at green green green to open guidelines on the mcd ph website as noted below are clearly written and noted according to ncdph recommendations for resuming in-person learning we need and then it's numbered number one two consecutive weeks with new case rates below 100 per 1000 100 000 people cc usd area has met this for two weeks two two consecutive weeks that with less than seven percent positivity ccosd area has met this for two weeks three two consecutive weeks with percent of hospital visits showing symptoms of covid like illness below 10 percent ccosd area has

047met this for two weeks our students have suffered long enough and need to be in a more traditional learning environment or they will fall even further behind we are doing so much harm to them by keeping them behind computer screens instead of in our classrooms you have no idea and that's the end of time for that one the next comment is from marta mcmahon from cave creek to the to superintendents and board members of ccosd i encourage you to open schools in ccosd the way learning is happening present presently is not learning and is not what is best for our children i i'm sure that you have seen the countless stories around the country of children of all ages in tears frustration sitting in front of screens for six hours a day no social interactions

048etc stress and depression have spiked the evidence of this is readily available online and not hard to find as for the threat of covet 19 the virus is known to have a 99 recovery rate it should not be more feared than the annual flu pneumonia or other similar illnesses that our schools see each year if it is safe enough for schools to be open as learning centers for daycare to be open for classes such as dance gymnastics etc to be open movie theaters churches and other businesses are open therefore schools should be open as well if the educators in our district along with the board and other staff truly care about the wealth being and that's uh the end of that comment the next comment is from ashlyn castellic from cave creek hello i am

049a student at cshs and i would really like to go back to in-person school september 8th i know that all my friends would agree with me that they learn way better in person with a live teacher online there are a ton of distractions and the communication of the lesson is always confusing as developing young adults we need the social interactions to develop who we are that virtual school can't offer i hope at your next meeting you decide to keep the reopening date you previously planned on september 8th and that's the end of that comment and that's the end of those that group the next comment is from joni ragusa of cave creek we all can agree that in-person education is the most desirable platform for our children to learn but you must ask yourselves at

050what cost science explains that close proximity and extended periods of time are the two greatest factors in the spread of the covet 19 virus these two factors are the definition of the school setting a spray bottle of disinfectant and a mask does not make a school a safe school our public libraries are not open to the public the phoenix art museum remains closed to the public there are no walk-in service at most of our county offices included but not limited to motor vehicle department no matter how much we want to return to the classroom it's simply not safe for our children and staff i believe it would be best to err on the side of safety and health keep virtual learning for the first semester and then reevaluate thank you the next comment is from

051richard bradford of phoenix in response to the motion that in person school should be delayed i have several thoughts for you to consider i have two grandsons that are in an immersion program that need to be in person in order for them to be successful these programs are designed around community and peer interaction as a working grandparent i'm trying to help my grandchildren with online schooling so my daughter can work i have been through a lot in my life between war hardships etc and having schools closed seems ridiculous to me if grocery stores gyms movie theaters etc can be reopened there is no reason schools not to open i see the mental and emotional toll having schools closed as having on my daughter's family my grandsons have become withdrawn argumentative anxious to name a few

052these children need peers and teachers to thrive please consider allowing the children that want to return come back thank you for your time the next comment is from the worstler family in rio verde we want to return students to in-person schooling without further delay remote instruction is not an adequate substitute and the long-term consequences to our children's education are detrimental we have the choice to continue harming their future by forcing remote learning we should have the wisdom to allow each family to make their own choice about what is best for their situation that choice must include in-person education that's the end of that comment the next comment is from naomi castellic i just want to uh cave creek i just want to express my full support of the kids returning to in person school on

053september 8th that's the end of that comment next comment is from chris olsen of cave creek i wish to express my concern for the well-being of our children if they are not allowed to return to in-person school i think it is imperative that children that want to return to school are allowed to as soon as possible we can see that for every day that passes with our kids attending school online our children's scholastic ability declines and will take significant effort to return to the levels they were at before the school shutdowns they also need the social interaction for their mental health i understand the concerns by administrators faculty and parents however the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few please vote to return to in-person schooling right now thank you for your

054consideration that's the end of that comment next comment is from annette melton of scottsdale i would like to express my desire to have my grandchildren return to in-person schooling i have been helping with schoolwork so that my children can continue to work as my son is a first responder i would like to let you know that i have noticed in my two grandsons that are enrolled in the immersion program with ccusd they have become withdrawn at times frustrated with trying to get into classes and submit assignments as well as becoming argumentative this in no way this is no way for children to go through school i am 86 years old and have never witnessed our country in this state i am cons considered in one of the high demographics to contract coven 19 however i

055am still continuing to help children trust me when i say you cannot live in fear these children must be allowed to return for their well-being thank you for your time next comment is from amy rudy of scottsdale i have four children in ccusd who attend cactus shadows snoring trails and horseshoe trails i am also an art teacher at a private school in phoenix my school has been back in person for over two weeks now and masks are optional for students and teachers as an art teacher i do not just have one group of kids isolated in my classroom i have all classes kindergarten through eighth grade sitting side by side at tables i clean all the tables and chairs between each class that comes in with all of the precautions i can take with art

056supplies and having a pencil box specific to each kid one another daily no masks i have a junior an eighth grader a sixth grader and a first grader while our junior can handle online learning i'm seeing the negatives with my other three they're experiencing my first grader is in mandarin immersion and it is clear to me that six-year-olds should not be expected to navigate canvas the other programs or the internet solo and complete assignments alone because my husband works full-time in my other kids and that is time on that comment the next comment is from christy thomas of cave creek we are deeply concerned to read in the board book this weekend that there is a possibility of a motion to move the stay at home online learning from september 8th to october 12th we

057have lived in cave creek for over 16 years and have two children in the ccusd system they have grown up in this system through lone mountain and one is now at some orange rails and are actively involved in their academics and activities of their schools i have been involved as a volunteer on the lone mountain pto endless hours of volunteering in the classroom and other activities and a huge support of all ccusd has stood for the news we have this weekend is extremely disheartening and disappointing in july all ccusd families were given a choice for what would work best for their family option one option two and academy of excellence soon after the boat the board voted to extend the date for in-person from august 17th for the governor for approval to return in person

058to september 8th by a 3-2 quote in favor to extend and quote vote and yes we sat there for the board meeting and watched it on youtube keeping in mind that again we had been presented with a choice that is the uh time on that comment the next comment is from allison summer of cave creek cave creek school should not open up on september 8th it is not safe for our schools to open at this time we have not had a single week with benchmarks completely green and we also need to take into consideration the large amount of students and employees who live outside our district with september 8th being only two weeks away it is not appropriate to open opening the schools too soon september 8th is too soon will create further instability for

059our children due to inevitable quarantines of classrooms and closures due to covet infection causing our children to bounce back and forth between online learning and classroom learning this is unacceptable for our children for our teachers the next comment is from lori hart cave creek dear dr burdick and governing board members on august 10th you received a letter signed by 125 teachers in our district asking you to use science to make the decision about when to safely return to school today you will be making that decision and i again urge you to please let the experts guide you the state recommends waiting to reopen until all three health metrics have gone for 14 consecutive days green and the arizona physicians and educators covid task force we referenced in our letter two weeks ago state there is

060a minimum requirement in particular this group suggested a 28-day period with consistent downward trajectory rather than only 14 days and also adequate testing availability with rapid turnaround results adequate ppe supplies for all educators and staff widespread contact tasting and staggering the return to school by grade levels as you make this important decision please also consider that the state has just this week started reopening bars theaters and gyms excuse me and we do not at this moment understand the ramifications of that opening that's time on that um comment and dr burdick will take the next round this first comment is from jonathan benjamin of cave creek when time gives you a retrospective look back at a moment when a decision had to be made being in the middle of the bell curve of issues represents the

061safe zone surgeons who look at new technologies and concepts love that middle of the curve because it protects their patients and protects themselves why would ccusd want to be the first local public school to return to in-person instruction ahead of other school districts and counter to guidelines put forth to protect the community at large i say follow the science and listen to the recommendations look at the universities backpedaling and reversing course kids will not wear mass and distance 100 percent of the time and the six foot distancing and testing required i think any rational person knows that our schools can't provide that part of the trio of covet 19 mitigation i see say this as a tenured science teacher who fully knows that distance learning is compromised and kids need social interaction please be patient

062follow our data to improve and follow local actions related to resuming in-person instruction this patience will protect our community and that's the time on that comment the next comment is from melissa laudenschlager of cave creek i would like to express my strong desire for my child to return to in-person learning on september 8th as currently set forth by ccusd per the requirements provided by governor ducey we have met these requirements at ccusd we have been diligent in following his guidance since the start of this pandemic why waiver now we have already pushed to reopen schools until september 8th as a precaution when the governor stated public schools could reopen august 17th arizona case numbers have been on a significant decline in the past couple of weeks and our rate of spread has been the lowest

063if not one of the lowest in as many weeks our kids need to be with their peers continuing to prolong will only cause more long-term detriment and catastrophic psychological issues for our kids are we considering a hybrid option to allow teachers students and parents to feel safe i work in the healthcare industry and also was a victim of covid myself my case like 99 percent of others was not life-threatening and was very mild and that is the end of that comment the next comment is sorry that was time for that comment next is stacy karas from phoenix president hill vice president rich members of the governing board superintendent verdict colleagues parents and staff my name is stacy karas and i am a pe teacher at cactus shadows high school i have been in the district

064for five years before addressing my specific comments regarding this decision to remain virtual or return physically to campus i want to convey my appreciation for the opportunity to provide not only my thoughts on this but also share that in my 23 years of teaching i have never experienced such an internal conflict as i find myself in today i do not envy your deliberations or the consequences no matter what you decide uh will be welcomed by some discounted by others and feared by others for me i'm in the group that is scared i'm fearful of what ramifications that will eat away at my confidence and focusing on safety protocols to such a degree that they the very purpose of my teaching physical education will be lost i don't know how i ever could live with myself

065if i learned that one of my students came down with the virus because of some safety protocol i missed and that is time on that comment the next comment is from jacob schwartz from cave creek our children need to return to in school learning we believe it is safe to return to school for both students and teachers alike the statistics listed on the mcdph website show only one narrow part of the overall analysis i would like to understand if the board has also considered the metrics and statistics of the increased levels of depression anxiety suicide and suicidal thoughts in our children since being forced into this continued isolation in addition to the emotional and mental health damages being caused here there are also academic damages i'm extremely disappointed in the online learning and i believe

066the only way for my children to begin effectively learning again is to return to school my children all feel the same way they want to return to school more than maybe ever before this board has the ability to help our children please do not hide behind statistics and fear bring these kids back to school immediately get them socializing again learning again and living their lives again the next comment is from jackson scott of scottsdale my name is jackson and i am in third grade i miss my teachers and my friends i hate online school it makes me sad please let us go back the next comment is from jason mays from scottsdale good evening the purpose of this comment is to strongly urge all decision makers to reject any further delays into opening ccusd schools

067politics need to be entirely disregarded with only objective data and information worthy of consideration when making this decision the count of cases and deaths per day have not just flattened but have just about crashed to zero and are currently well below ten percent of the pandemics early to mid july peaks as reported by the arizona department of health services should a case arise it has also been established that children are more resilient in this disease than even the common flu put in simply in terms of risk analysis low incidence times little risk per incident equals back to school it has been our observation that many teachers currently advocate much of their responsibility by commonly availing themselves to lectures and questions for less than half of the scheduled class time this is not going unnoticed in

068the community accredited organizations including the centers for disease control and prevention american academy of pediatrics and that is time on that comment the next comment is from stephanie libratory and she is in scottsdale to begin i would like to thank district teachers staff and administrators for doing an amazing job with distance learning i have a child with an iep and i have been so thankful for the services provided during this time i'm asking that the board members vote to follow the arizona department of health services recommended metrics for the safe opening of school which is to wait on in-person learning until all three metrics are in the green and have stayed there for a two-week period it's important that you listen to the professionals and use data when making the decision how does returning to

069in-person school when when maricopa county has not met these metrics ensure a safe and successful learning experience for our children i am sure there has not been such an important decision made by a school board in many years if ever we cannot afford to get this one wrong the health of staff students and families depend on your vote if there is a time to be cautious it's now i believe if we wait to open schools when metrics are met school is more likely to stay open and students and teachers will not have to bounce back and forth between home and school that is time for that comment the next comment is from shauna melton in response to the motion i'm sorry from cave creek in the response to the motion that in person school be

070delayed i have several thoughts for you to reconsider we have two boys second and fourth grade that are enrolled in the immersion programs in the district the entire premise and success of the program relies on the children being with peers in the classroom setting not sitting and watching videos by themselves we as parents agreed to the online distance learning in the short term as there was no other option if in person had been available to start we would have done that unfortunately parents and families as a whole are not being considered we have done what the board has asked of us and yet you're considering pushing back the date again i asked you to really think about the fact that if grocery stores and other retailers that are not controlled environments are open why are

071the schools having an issue let those that chose to stay home do so and those that want what's best for children and families return back to school as a first responder family we know the risks and are completely comfortable with our children being in school setting our children's social emotional cognitive development and general well-being are more important that is time on that comment the next comment is by pam gum of cave creek president hill and members of the governing board i'd like to begin by pointing out the irony in the situation the school board is still meeting via zoom because it is too much of a risk to meet in person it is not difficult to social distance in the board room at the district office it is however impossible to social distance and cease

072to usd classrooms especially at the high school why is it that you are willing to risk our children and teachers being exposed to covet but you aren't willing to take that risk yourselves nobody disagrees with children learning better in the classroom but when we're in a global pandemic health and human life must be the ultimate priority as much as we want life to go back to normal it can't right now and pretending like it can is putting lives at risk the pandemic isn't over just because we wish it was within 15 days of opening schools florida has already reported 9 000 new cases of covet and school children arizona has one of the highest rates of pediatric covet cases in the country to think that it won't spread among children is naive and inaccurate a

073family friend had a young child in phoenix children's hospital for over a week with complications from covet he's five years old that is the time for that comment the next comment is from maria reiny of cave creek i want to thank the school board and dr burdick for navigating our district through this unprecedented time and meeting the needs of our diverse community while virtual learning at home continues there are options for families who need in-person learning allowing safe options for all this is not a perfect situation for anyone luckily our children are more resilient than we know i am writing to request you extend virtual learning for our district as you know the state and our community have not met recommended guidelines for reopening schools yet at this time our state leaders have decided to

074reopen other businesses gyms movie theaters bars water parks as well as local college campuses that have reopened arizonans have seen the negative results of reopening the state too soon and all at once previously i pray that we do not see the same results this time but it does not make sense to put our children teachers and staff at risk we do not need to be part of an experiment we all agree classroom t learning is best but only when it is as safe as possible for all we've observed districts been to the pressure to reopen too soon just to have to close their doors and that is time for that comment dr pratt will continue the next comment is from michelle williams from cave creek dear dr burdick dr miller and the governing board members

075i'm a parent in the district and have been since 2000. i'm reaching out to relay two comments and requests one please allow our children to return to the classroom setting on september 8th our metrics per the health department have been met to return in person learning to deny opening our schools until all greens are met is unnecessary and extreme in fact with all greens according to the arizona department of health information all greens list face coverings not needed and no other restrictions on field trips and large gatherings additionally the maricopa site is about two to four weeks behind in data so we likely have met all three the metrics by the azdhs are recommendations for individual districts not intended to factor in other surrounding zip codes also the rt pre of arizona is the lowest

076in the nation for the very long time showing minimal spread clearly that's the end of that comment for time the next comment is from jennifer klaus from cave creek good evening governing board members this is a very important moment in our district's timeline you our elected board members have the ability to send our children back to school while almost every type of business church restaurant bar theater movie theater and sports are returning to the new norm with all sizes of staffing and customers patrons our students are still expected to stay home to earn their education where is the logic in this the online learning system is not working for the vast majority of students and they will admit that they are not learning ask them or better yet test them the cdc has just released

077updated information that reveals that six percent of deaths in the us were patients who passed specifically from covet over three million people have recovered from coven this is all good news i realized the decision to return to school in in person to in-person learning is not one an easy one but rather than living in the what if let's live in the we can allow those students who need and want to be in the classroom back and allow those who need to remain home continue their online learning that is the end of that comment for time the next comment is from chris excuse me fitzwater from cave creek that's it it's over the cdc just admittedly admitted only six percent of total deaths were actually caused directly by covert 19. time to open the schools and

078get back to work the people and the children have had enough of the lies of political manipulation from all those involved if you vote to delay school once again you are accompli accomplices in this lie however i would like to thank the three board members that voted to not open schools the first go around the community has come together and become more organized since then our facebook group started with 250 members and now has grown to 10 000. not to mention you pushed a lot of people over into the trump train 2-2 mega 20-20 that's the end of that comment next comment is from joe mcglinn from cave creek good at evening president hill dr burdick and governing board members as a staff member parent and citizen of ccusd i urge you to follow the

079metrics requirements recommended by governor ducey i would love nothing more to be back in the classroom and both my children in classrooms as well at this time though i look around our country and see what's happening with to other schools and districts that have opened too early according to the cdc on august 27 2020 covert 19 cases among u.s children increased by 21 in just two weeks i teach five classes a day three of my five classes have 30 more students in each class social distancing can't happen in my classroom please consider that what we have seen in schools like georgia mississippi alabama and tennessee more importantly please consider to adhering to the metrics specifically having them green for all 14 days consecutive days i can't wait to get back in person learning with my

080students but i would like to make sure that it's as safe as possible that's the end of that comment the next comment is from debbie and john pugh from scottsdale as grandparents of two children in the ccusd we feel the district would be doing a severe disservice to its children by not allowing in-class learning to resume on september 8th we have become increasingly concerned for them their parents and their in our overall community the problems with online learning are numerous and grave and are already producing frustrated teachers and parents as maricopa county has now met the required benchmarks set by the department of health for reopening schools it's time to properly evaluate the districts the diminished risks of covet 19 versus the increasing risks of obtaining an appropriate level of learning that can only be

081achieved within school education the undue burden being placed on parents further exasperates exacerbates the health of the children and the family unit it's time to go back to school and that is that end of that comment the next comment is from caitlin thomas from cave creek my name is caitlin thomas i'm a sixth grade i'm in sixth grade this year my experience with online school has one pro and many cons a pro is that we have a live virtual meeting for class every class including specials so if we ever need anything we can ask the teachers directly the reason i want to go back to school on september 8th is because i miss the social part of school and being in person with my friends classmates and teachers a few days ago i got kicked

082off a class nine times if we stay online longer who knows how many more times i will get kicked out of my classes if we were in person learning this would not be happening we were given a choice if we wanted to go back in person to in-person school or stay online our family chose it was time to go back on september 8th i would be very upset if the date is extended to october 12th even though i am a type 1 diabetic i still feel safe returning to school on september 8th and my parents feel the same not being able to see my friends during the school day makes me feel lonely people i would normally see on a typical school day i now get to see sometimes on the weekends and that's the

083end of time for that comment the next comment is dan thomas cave creek our children needs to return to in school learning now it is currently considered safe enough for us to be able to take our children to a restaurant to the gym to the movie theaters and to the grocery store but you're considering not letting them go back to in-school learning because it's not safe enough yet question mark it is currently considered safe enough for us to take our children to club sports practices and games but you are con still considering not letting them go back to in school learning because it's not safe enough while the rest of community and multiple other school districts are opening up ccosd is considering a green green green benchmark to allow kids to go back to in-person

084learning chris i wasn't so it wasn't so long ago that ccosd came up with two viable options for their adult parents to choose from which option they chose was based on what they felt was best for their child not what was best for every child i asked you where did those options go to be more precise where did the option we chose option one go and that's the end of time for that comment the next comment is from kevin diamond from cave creek thank you to the majority of my kids teachers that express their support to get back to in-person learning based on voting for the original delay on july 20th a big july 20th a big thank you goes out to board members busby and brown for actually researching the topics and being proponents

085for in-person learning at that time we were ahead of their game they were ahead of their game as coveted 19 cases and test positive rates were on the decline it was very clear that other board members voted to push out in-person learning based on their feelings or the influence of a minority of mri of teachers the board president complained about the lack of guidance from the arizona state government while anyone can lead when the trail is laid out via state mandates and metrics fortunately our state government has empowered our school boards and administrators to make decisions that are best for the students while taking into account the arizona covid benchmark metrics the overall covert metrics are improving so dramatically that the arizona state benchmark metrics will likely meet all thresholds by next week that's the

086end of time for that comment the next comment is from summer diaz from cave creek excuse me after three weeks of online school i'm writing to show my support for in person classes to begin scheduled on september 8th families have been offered options it is imperative that these options remain and finally now be truly made up available any families concerned about their own safety have the choice for online learning my children are struggling with online learning i need our choice option one to be honored and now offered in-person teaching is irreplaceable especially for rigorous classes we are thankful for the skilled teachers in this district and look forward to learning in the classroom and that is the end of that comment john and jill robinson from cave creek we are writing to comment that we

087are writing this comment to urge the board to please push back the in-person reopening school date to at least the end of first quarter in october according to the mcd ph metrics we should be in the green for at least two weeks before reopening our schools we are currently still in the yellow and will not be in the green for uh for two weeks by september eighth it is incredibly important that we rely on scientific data and not follow any political agendas when coming to safety safely opening reopening our schools as many families will not be comfortable yet to return to in-person instruction we can do more to accommodate these can we do more to accommodate these families is there a way to continue virtual learning through live streaming the classes switching to the online

088academy where the curriculum is different will make it difficult for students to transition the online school does not offer the immersion program which will be a huge loss for many of our immersion students what about a hybrid model approach this seems like an ideal option to get our of our students back safely in school and that's the end of time for that comment and dr burdick will continue i mean i should say mrs scotto we'll continue the next comment is from brandon brendan anderson of phoenix dear ccusd board we are parents of a student attending horseshoe trails a place where our son is felt cared for supported and loved we are so thankful for the dedication shown by horseshoe trails and by ccosd as a whole children need to be back in school and we

089urge the ccusd board to vote that the projected start date of september 8th continue as planned in our in our own son and among his peers and their families the effects of long-term separation from an in-school learning environment are taking a significant toll we are thankful to hear that teachers were given the option of transferring to the cave creek academy of excellence if they had concerned about risk associated with in-person learning as parents we are simply requesting to be afforded the same kind of choice to allow us to make the choice to send our children to vital in-person learning this is a matter of their physical emotional academic well-being the cdc agrees in their recent article posted at cdc.gov the cdc sites scientific study after study pointing to the need for schools to reopen they

090clearly state quote the harms attributed and that is time for that comment the next comment is from dr angela robertson of cave creek good evening i applaud the board for their foresight in selecting a date to reopen that is now promising to coincide with meeting the benchmarks recommended by the state and county thank you for your earlier decision in the board meeting on 720 was noted that as board members you did not expect to have to make public health decisions and that the government leaders in public health departments who should have been making these decisions were not providing helpful guidance now that those organizations are at least giving concrete helpful guidance let us follow it the data from the county dashboard qualify the district for in-person learning now is the time to plan the transition

091to a quote hybrid learning scenario end quote so we can have children back in school on september 8th let us not delay planning until the next dashboard update on the third leaving teachers and staff only a day to prepare instead let us anticipate that the next dashboard update will confirm our decision to move forward one of the great benefits of the maricopa county dashboarding guidance is its geographical precision with respect to the metrics and that's time on that comment the next comment is from jill walby of cave creek first i want to thank the teachers and staff at cactus shadows for making the start of this school year a success although i understand the student's need for social interaction and i want my son to be in the classroom i'm asking you to please follow

092the recommendation of the maricopa maricopa county health department for the safe reopening of schools that states all three benchmarks should be green for a two-week period before in-person learning resumes right now our district only has two benchmarks that are green as you stated previously it is impossible to social distance the students once they return to class and because of this i believe the in-person start date should be postponed the next comment is from stacy tracy of cave creek good evening ccusd 93 board i am a concerned parent in the ccusd 93 school district and i know i am speaking on behalf of many other concerned parents about the well-being of our children the ccusd children have been out of school since march and continue to keep them out of the traditional brick and mortar school

093is causing stress on the families and children i don't know if any board have any elementary age children but many are not thriving spending numerous hours a day looking at a computer screen it is not healthy for them schools need to reopen like the rest of the arizona schools and businesses that have been open to support the communities they serve i work for a large not-for-profit health system and overall things are looking really good we really need to get some normalcy back for our children since ccusd 93 currently meets two of the three recommended benchmark and one if very close there should be no concern opening on september 8 as planned we are already delayed one month in opening the schools another delay would be detrimental to the kids we shouldn't and that is time

094on that comment the next comment is from rachel schwartz olsen of cave creek my name is rachel schwartz olsen and i have always been very proud to have my children attend the schools in the ccusd and so grateful that ccos93 has always driven for excellence in our schools i'm running today to express my concern of your possible change in the plans to reopen our ccusd schools i'm hoping that ccusd will do the right thing for our children we must stay on course and resume resume to in-person learning on september 8th as our kids are suffering academically emotionally and physically right now under the remote learning model we all recognize that this is not easy thing to do but as an a plus school district there is absolutely no reason that we cannot find a way

095to accomplish this as parents we of all people are looking out for what is best for our children of course in-person learning may not be right thing for all families but this is why you have options please do the right thing for our families and kids that want to need and need to be in person learning it is important to keep in mind that the easy benchmarks are a recommended guidance and that is time on that comment next comment is from lori desicco of cave creek dear dr burdick president hill and members of the governing board this is my 17th year living and working in ccusd and i am saddened by the divide our district is experiencing right now there is not one teacher or staff member that would argue the fact that kids learn

096better in person and need to be at school it's the risk of illness and potential death where everyone seems to disagree we can't make decision based on subjective emotions pressure or wishful thinking don't we expect the same of our children when we make choices if we were to ignore the data we would all throw caution to the wind and return tomorrow there is no data supporting the september 8 return date the only way to make a decision based on objective information is to use the arizona and maricopa county health department risk benchmarks the arizona and maricopa county public health department school reopening dashboard and guidance recommends 14 consecutive days of green low risk in all three benchmarks before opening to traditional in-person learning this will definitely not guarantee and that is time on that comment

097the next comment is from kimberly rowland and cave creek good evening in response to the motion that in-person school be extended to october 12th i would like to relay a few thoughts my husband and i have twin first graders in the ccusd that love school and while we are making the best of online distance we are struggling for two reasons first of all my son has autism being in school to receive all his services that are required by law is immensely important not to even start to mention the social emotional growth that happens at this age in general but for any child on the spectrum or with special needs being cooped up and not having the opportunity to go to school is detrimental secondly my daughter is in one of the immersion programs in our

098district which is the entire reason we picked to move to cave creek so our children could participate in these highly regarded programs being online for half the day in another language after missing out on the opportunities lost from march until now has been immense it is affecting her studies and mental health emergent students need to be in the classroom environment with their teachers and peers that is time on that comment the next comments from brittany horowicz of cave creek dear ccusd school board is with great respect that i implore you to keep the in-person start date of tuesday september 8 2020. i have two middle school students enrolled in sonoran trails and over the past few weeks i have seen their love of learning and excitement for school plummet due to anxiety fear uncertainty and

099frustration due to to the technical issues that plague the distance learning neither of my children thrive in an online environment are suffering greatly depression is increasing and motivation is dropping we are very educationally focused family and with working parents we make it a priority with parental involvement yet my children are still struggling my children need to go back to an in-person learning environment where they can be taught to and engage in face-to-face discussion with their teachers and their peers there's so much more to learning that can be conveyed on a screen from body language to shifts in expression the subtle quests of social appropriateness are being missed and our children will be at a disadvantage if the in-person start date is pushed from next tuesday and that's time on that comment the next comment is

100from mark and erica copenhagen of cave creek dear dr burdick and ccusd board we would like to begin by saying how much we appreciate the chance to voice our concerns related to the safe return to school as well as our appreciation to the teachers and school staff that have been making distant learning go so well we would respectfully implore the board to continue distance learning beyond september 8th while we understand that distance learning is not optimal and can be a hardship for some we believe that this is the safest and most prudent thing to do at this time especially since the state benchmarks metrics have not yet reached quote green green green end quote but rather are quote yellow yellow green end quote children are not immune to coven 19 and many will who survive

101are showing startling post-infection issues not seen in adults that have yet to be truly understood we strongly believe that the safety and well-being of all children served by ccusd must be protected and that the board should base their decisions on science rather than the minority who though loud do not ethically and morally the will and that is time on that comment the next comment is from joe kovac of scottsdale ccusd is scheduled to begin in-person learning on september 8 nearly six months after the initial discontinuance the cdc has issued guidelines for the reopening of in-person learning and highly recommend that school districts reopen in person but do so in conjunction with any local health guidelines the cdc stretches stresses the importance of in-person learning for students because other than a child's home no other setting

102has more influence on a child's health and well-being than the school and that environment promotes instruction social and emotional developmental nutritional needs and physical activity the cdc also indicates that available evidence indicates kovit19 poses a relatively low risk to school-age children the cdc reports that as of july 17th children represent seven percent of positive covid19 cases and 0.1 percent of covin-19 related deaths and while any death to a child is catastrophic this represents a lower percentage than annual flu related deaths of children additionally cdc findings and that's time on that comment dr burdick will continue the next comment is from shelly niffen from phoenix as a ccusd parent and staff member i want to encourage you to use the metric requirements recommended by governor ducey i want so badly to be back in class with

103my students and i desperately want my own children to be back in school with their parents peers and teachers however my desire to resume traditional brick and mortar school cannot outweigh the need to do so responsibly safely and most importantly permanently our kids have had three weeks to adjust to virtual school and establish a sense of normalcy and routine while not ideal it is at least consistent and expected we would all be delighted to return to school but not to return too soon and then have our schools close again due to an outbreak which would be deflating and even more heartbreaking than not returning at all i fear such an outcome is as much a threat to our kids mental and emotional health as any illness to their physical well-being some may accuse me a

104teacher of simply wanting to avoid work let me assure you teachers have never done more work than we are doing right now this job now consumes more of my time and energy than traditional school ever has and that is time on that comment the next comment is from michael murphy of carefree dear dr burdick and governing board i am writing in support of the administration's recommendation to use the mcdph metrics to determine when it is safe to return to school as outlined in your discussion document on item number 4.2 as a pharmacist and as a citizen observing the experience that schools and universities around the nation are having as they try to return to in-person learning i realize that one of the most important determinants of safety of returning to school is the amount of

105community spread therefore i believe that the maricopa county department of public health's decision to use metrics that are more conservative than the arizona department of health safety's recommendations as well as to use district boundaries for the measurement of those metrics are wise decisions if the observance of these metrics delay the return to school the later start date will have other benefits as we learn more about the spread of coven 19 we realize that a gathering of people in an enclosed space with limited ventilation especially where people are talking increases the risk of transmission and that's time on that comment the next comment is from sydney mellon from cave creek as a mother to two elementary age children i am in strong support of all kids returning to school september 8th the online school has actually

106been going well for my girls they like the lessons their teachers provide and they get their assignments turned in on time it is very unfortunate though that this means a large part of their times devoted to a screen they each spend about three hours just on zoom calls and another two hours in homework and learning games from the time i became a mother a strong emphasis has been placed on limited screen time and encouraging other forms of learning and entertainment continuing distance learning as the only method of schooling ignores decades of data related to childhood development and importance of face-to-face interaction although my daughters are succeeding in this learning format not all of their needs are being met they have a need to meet their teachers and develop a relationship with them outside of the

107computer screen they have a need to make new friends and strengthen the friendships they already have they have a need to interact experience conflict and learn how to solve problems without us parents telling them what the answer is and that's time on that comment the next comment is from hattie swart from phoenix some things the community needs to know there are roughly 2 000 students and staff at cactus shadows each of whom attend up to six classes a day with anywhere from 30 to 40 students in each these classes take place in rooms that if desks were spread out even three feet apart as opposed to suggested six would hold 16 students there are no windows that can open and due to safety concerns doors have to remain shut and locked so there's zero ventilation

108there is no current plan for social distancing either in the classroom or on campus as students arrive and leave switch classes or eat lunch bathroom use will be extremely limited even locked during passing periods to prevent congregation in a small highly contagious environment this means students will always have to use class time to use the restroom teachers are only being given one bottle of disinfectant four microfiber towels which will be laundered once a week and a thing of hand sanitizer to mitigate spread classes throughout the day will be asked to wipe with these reusable rags down desk chairs technology and school materials both before and after class begins and ends and that's time on that comment the next comment is societa shaw from scottsdale i understand the need for students to return to in-person classes

109this is especially important for special needs students but we have to understand the ramifications of sending the kids back to school when the health department has set benchmarks for the pandemic some are stating that other schools are open safely but have they looked at the precautions they're taking do they have the same positivity rates as we do we cannot cave creek schools cannot open just because other schools are every area has a different level of cases our district does not have the same opening plans as other schools schools in new jersey have split the kids into two groups each group attends schools different days and only attend in the morning and go home before lunch they also have plexiglass barriers around each student queen creek's high school also has barriers around each desk we cannot

110start just because other schools are starting we need to look at the cases in areas our students and staff live i'm in full support of the green green green waiting until all zip codes meet benchmarks this is for the safety of our children that is time on that comment the next comment is from marianne morarity i urge the board to consider what other i'm sorry from scottsdale i urge the board to consider what other school districts in the area are doing in regard to reopening in-person education for children colleges have not yet begun successful reopening without the spread of coven 19. so why would you think elementary students running around a playground or eating in congregate and they cannot wear masks while eating would be different why are social we are social people and children

111very often do not think before they act i very much want my granddaughter to return to black mountain elementary school but not until it is safe first ccusd said it would could not adhere to cdc social distancing and many other safety requirements stipulated so now it should keep our children safe and not be the canaries in the cave they're our priceless future not our essential workers keep our children and our teachers safe at home the next comment is from treasure milanovich from cape creek as i have stated before first and foremost i want to acknowledge appreciation to all teachers administrators and board members during this unprecedented time as this is my second letter stating my opinion on the subject i will skip any and all science data and supposed facts as i know this has

112already been covered by many i will focus solely on what's happening within our home and board members can choose to act or ignore the facts in regard to the social emotional wellness of our children which is being played out in front of our eyes when i walk into my kids rooms in the middle of the day the first thing i notice when they look into my eyes is the distance i see in theirs i see a dimming happening in their eyes of my children from this distance being forced upon them as a meditation teacher yoga teacher and life coach i will speak to you in the terms that i teach in that i live in that i share with my children we are human beings that require contact and connection by denying our children the

113choice to physically connect with their friends peers and teachers you're denying them the most basic function required as human beings it breaks my heart i'm sorry that's the end of time the next comment is by cement samantha craigle and she is in phoenix dear members of the board thank you to the administration teachers and staff for all your hard work during this difficult time i have two boys at horseshoe trails elementary school sixth grade and second grade my hope is that the schools will resume face-to-face learning september 8th everyone in my immediate and extended family is safely successfully working on the front lines my sister's a nurse working in a hospital covent unit for the past three months and she has not contracted the virus nor have any of her co-workers thus far my mother-in-law

114works at fry's grocery store interacting with hundreds of people on a daily basis she too has not contracted the virus and consid is considered in a more vulnerable population my aunt works full-time at primrose daycare which has remained open throughout the pandemic she has not contracted the virus she's older with underlying health conditions and her preschoolers do not wear masks my point in sharing these examples is twofold one these people are local to our area two with proper precautions they're able to work safely these are just a few examples my brother is in the army and at basic training my mom is a nanny my dad's a realtor and that is time on that comment the next comment is from guy melton in cave creek it is a time to open up the schools for

115classroom learning as soon as possible online schooling is incapable of addressing the multitude of behavioral learning differences with children and lacks attention to these children and their learning abilities in addition peer learning is essential to social learning skills as an example the students and language immersion studies are crippled in their academic success using online schooling as the basis for their skill set without in-person conversation and lesson plans thank you for your consideration next comment is from shauna carlson of cave creek i wish for the board to fully consider implications for starting in-person schools september 8 2020 per the most recent metrics on the maricopa county school reopening dashboard and guidance the cities of cave creek and carefree do not yet meet all three metrics identified by the arizona department of health services for safely reopening

116for in-person instruction the source is maricopa.gov 5594 school metrics carefree overall risk level substantial and recommended learning scenario is virtual with online support cases per 100 000 equals 36.08 yellow percent positivity 15 red coveted like illness three percent green cave creek overall risk level is moderate with recommended learning scenario virtual with on-site support until less than seven percent positive for two weeks cases for a hundred thousand equals twenty four 24.4 yellow percent positivity 2.44 percent green covalent illness 3 green and that is the time for that comment and dr pratt will continue reading comments the next comment is from vanessa guinolovich from cave creek i understand that the lack of staff resources are the sole concern when considering mandatory temperature checks on students and staff entering school grounds the current mitigation plan is to have

117parents conduct the checks at home prior to arriving at school and to keep students home if not as necessary please advise if there will be will be any discussions to adjust this plan and implement mandatory temperature checks upon entering school grounds my concern as a parent is not that making this mandatory process upon arrival will allow students and staff to come in onto campus ill and potentially spread the virus it may be possible for the individual school pto's staff to organize a sign up for parents to volunteer their time to assist with this process as well as collect donations for non-contact thermometers this will lessen the resource limitations as well as financial costs associated implementing this mandatory check with specific guidelines is a crucial step to ensuring our students and and safe staff are kept

118safe when welcoming them back to in-person schooling that was the end of time for that comment the next comment is from buffy piglowski from cave creek i am kindly asking the board and school district to listen to the parents that chose the in-person learning option back in july we have not been given our choice which was in-person learning for our children those that chose to remain home and do online schooling have been given their choice when the district created the aoe our students have suffered enough since since this started back in march they haven't been given the opportunity to go to school for five months now i will say that the end of the last school year versus now is drastically different with online school but it is still not the same as in-person learning

119i hear arguments from the other side it's like you just want a babysitter for your kids that is couldn't be farther from the truth for these families me personally my children are in 11th and 8th grade they can babysit themselves they want to go to school to learn and be social with their friends and teachers both of my kids have always loved going to school and have been well-rounded students both have participated in school sports and extra curricular activities that's the end of time for that comment the next comment is from madison piklowski from cave creek as a student at cactus shadows i would like to say that i would like to go back to school as a student taking four ap classes online just does not do learning justice i feel as if we

120are being robbed of our education online learning is setting us back for many years to come please take into consideration what kind of effect this is having on students when preparing for sats and thinking about what colleges that we are going to apply for please listen to our voices as we want to be heard maddie piglowski that's the end of that comment the next comment is from wayne melton from cave creek i am a first responder and on the front lines of this pandemic i firmly believe that all numbers for this have been exaggerated while i admit that this is a real sickness i also know firsthand how inflated the numbers are what i see as a bigger issue than cover 19 is the way it is affecting children i have watched as my two

121boys second and fourth have declined in their learning let me be clear that i do not blame any of this on the teachers as i know they are doing their best with given circumstance i blame the district for not seeing through the inflated numbers and allowing our students to use our children to resume in-person learning my boys are part of the immersion program as i am sure a lot of students are and it is imperative that they have this immersion learning in the classroom with their teachers and peers they should not be sitting in front of a computer watching a video to decipher the language on their own being a first responder i am aware of the dangers of returning to in-person schooling but feel there is much bigger much higher danger if children continue

122even through october 12th at home online schooling not to mention what this that is the end of time for that comment the next comment is from leticia the tc chait from phoenix my sentiment that student in-person money should not return until the metrics laid out by maricopa county have been met as as of today these metrics have not been met the green light for in-person learning according to the department of public health and medical experts is one two weeks of testing positivity below five percent and two two weeks of cases fewer than ten per one hundred thousand population i feel that a target date of october at the turn of the quarter is a more viable date one it gives the district the time to implement sustainable safety protocols to it gives cave creek the

123time it needs in order to meet the metrics that have been laid out by the arizona department of health medical experts thank you for your consideration that is the end of that comment the next comment is from andrew daly phoenix my name is andrew daly and i'm an english teacher at cactus shadows high school i'm writing to you to ask that you consider pushing the start date for in-person learning back further than september 8th instead of choosing an arbitrary date i ask that we follow governor deuce's recommendation of waiting until all three metrics are met for 14 consecutive days before we return this is the only true safe way to return to in-person learning my classroom is roughly 30 by 20 not all of which is usable space and let me point out that i

124have one of the largest classrooms in my entire department most of them are substantially smaller than mine this space doesn't account for my desk area the space at the front of the room that needs to be left open for students to see the board and the storage bookshelves that can't be moved because they're attached to the walls if i were to give each student desk a six foot bubble i would only be able to fit roughly 16 desks in my room my largest class is 34 students and my smallest is 29 which is still 13 desks more than there should be in the room the social distancing that will be done with desks is only about a foot and a half and that's the end of time for that comment the next comment is from

125michael depinto from scottsdale if the school district is going to move forward with september 8th in person schooling is the district fully prepared with in-person plan for example are the buildings classrooms library lunchroom gym school grounds etc set up and ready to go our family is 100 for starting school on september 8th it would be disappointing if the decision is made to go back to school and the district needs more time to prepare the facilities etc if the district does decides not to move forward on september 8th in person learning can the teachers teach virtually from their classrooms versus their homes i understand school district and other schools in arizona around us and around the u.s are using this method that is the end of that comment next comment is from amy rude a student

126from scottsdale dearest school governing board i'm a junior at cactus shadows i know you say you are thinking about the well-being of students and teachers but it would be better if we could go back to school on september 8th i really don't want to spend most of my year doing online school please let us go back i wish the goal was to get us back in school in person because it didn't doesn't feel like that right now i don't like online school i don't like not being able to easily ask teachers for questions questions or for better explanations i don't like sitting in my room all day with small breaks i feel isolated and alone i would like to interact with my teachers classmates and friends i was one of those kids that was angry

127when school was canceled last spring so imagine how i feel now i never treated the online learning like summer started early i worked harder and took it seriously by postponing you are just making me hate school and i'm not sure i'm the one i'm not the only one and i'm sure i'm not the only one please consider how the students feel thank you cshs junior that is the end of that comment the next comment is from cynthia kane from cave creek dear superintendent burdick president hill and members of the governing board i am writing to ask that you reconsider the september 8th return of in-person school instruction at ccosd while it is clear that kids learn better in person and benefit from the interaction with teachers and peers the science says it is not safe

128to do so at this time the return of in-person learning needs to follow the guidelines what met by our state and county health departments it is my understanding that ccosd does not meet the recommended 14-day green status in the three benchmarks that have been set for reopening the safety and well-being of the district's teachers and staff must be considered it is unfair to ask teachers to put themselves at risk of contracting covert 19 and to risk the safety of their family members of family members some of whom have underlying health conditions you cannot expect teachers to perform their jobs to the best of their ability if they do not feel safe at work a human being's most basic need of safety according to master's hierarchy of needs is crucial for humans to function optimally no

129matter how much we want to go want to return to in-person learning and that is the end of that comment for time the next comment is from stacey leshner from cave creek am writing to you out of concern for the september 8th reopening date while i very much want my children to back in normal school i implore you to only reopen the district when it is safe to do so based off the benchmarks provided by the health department currently we have still not met the benchmark to be open schools it has been widely is it is being widely reported that we might possibly meet the benchmark on thursday when updated data is presented but at this current time when you are meeting to decide whether or not to reopen schools we have not met these

130benchmarks the two nearest districts scottsdale and paradise valley have clear plans in place for reopening their schools scottsdale school district is not returning at full capacity but instead doing a hybrid model cave creek apparently does not have this option available pv district has announced that they will only go back when the benchmark shows that they are in the green area and even once they have met the benchmark they are giving a two-week grace period to help teachers and parents readjust to going back to school in person i urge you to follow either one of those districts plans for the opening and that's and ending that comment for time uh okay the next comment is from karen piglowski from cave creek as an eighth grade student at sonoran trails middle school i am asking that you

131please let us go back to school on september 8th and that is the end of that comment and mrs scotto will continue the next comment is from dennis peglowski of cave creek i ask that you keep this in mind when deciding to reopen the schools ignore the emails and requests to keep the schools closed parents and students that want the schools to remain closed have an option to go to online school so what difference does it make if the schools are open for them no one is forcing them to go to in-person learning however we are being forced to do online if you refuse to open the schools all indications that the maricopa county will meet the three benchmarks to reopen on thursday so please do not change the day from 9 7 20 as

132our return to school day i ask you to please prepare as if school is going to open next tuesday and if the numbers on thursday don't meet the three benchmarks then push the start date back that's the end of that comment the next comment is from jenny utterback of cave creek to the members of the ccusd school board and superintendent i'm running again on behalf of my four elementary school children on the night of this important vote to open our schools on september 8th there are many of us in the district who want the choice of in-person learning for our children our community needs to demonstrate its ability to function through the fears and realities of covid19 while scientific metrics and data are an important important piece of this decision our children are depending on

133us to make decisions that will not only keep them safe but will also enable their growth my five-year-old son is in kindergarten has an inp and struggles to engage online with his speech teacher the whole kindergarten experience at home has been really challenging for him even with his exceptional teachers doing all they can to support him from a distance my six-year-old daughter is in first grade as a bright student and recently expressed herself last week by pulling out all of her eyelashes strong schools need strong families and strong families need strong schools we need your support and leadership right now please make a decision and that is uh time on that comment next comments from katie angeli of cave creek dear governing board and dr burdick in advocating for a back to school day i

134would encourage the board to consider using the predetermined state metrics as a guide for our return to face-to-face learning i would also encourage that all of the zip codes that our district services be included for consideration when determining the safety of a return thank you for the good work you do those are the end of her comments next comments are from robin enriquez of scottsdale hello i would like to take this time to urge the board to keep the in-person return date for ccusd for september 8 as scheduled i know i'm not alone in saying that children need in-person instruction i will speak of my family's experience thus far with quote virtual online learning end quote the teachers and staff at dsa are doing their best to help students succeed with this new learning program

135but the program is failing there is no replacement for the benefits of in-person instruction the benefits of in-person reach beyond academics they are social emotional physical and psychological my seven and nine-year-old are not computer geniuses nor do i expect them to be at this age children were not meant to sit at a computer screen for hours on end and then be expected to type up their assignments this is asking too much of the kids and parents when i come home from work at night i want to spend my time soaking up my kids not trying to get them to spend more time on the computer to get their work done that often ends in tears and frustration from everyone i'm literally watching my kids love for learning diminish a little each day and that is

136time for those comments the next comments are from kyle quo of phoenix to the board debbie burdick and to the rest of the staff at ccusd about to be mandated to be put in an unsafe workplace environment above and beyond what is already quest of you on a regular basis i implore the board to reconsider and delay the start of in school instruction while the state may say it is safe to reopen schools i do want to remind you that not long ago the same state leadership had to reclose many places of businesses due to a spike in positive cases in arizona and trying to quote reopen end quote reintroducing a younger population who researchers have said a majority are asymptomatic to tight quarter quarters classrooms not only puts staff at direct risk but their

137families at home as well the education of future generations is incredibly important i can be the first to tell you of the many lessons i learned at my at my time as student at multiple ccusd schools while the delay of in-person classes can be viewed as troubling to some it's my belief that it's a priority for the society we live in to sacrifice in-person classes for zoom that's time on those comments the next comments are from daniel and michelle ramos of cave creek good afternoon members of the board first of all we want to thank you for your hard work and dedication during this time while we cannot wait for our fourth grader to go back to school we want this to be in a safe environment as safely as possible we have been following

138the data and we are glad to see that two out of the three health benchmarks have been met it seems as if we are pretty close however not quite there yet since we still have one more benchmark to be met therefore we are asking two things one to delay school reopenings until we have more data as to how the spread of the virus affects not only students and teachers but also the rest of the community up until now our kids have been home for the most part slowing down the virus spread and perhaps that has allowed some of the state benchmarks to be met in the meantime we can continue to observe other school districts locally and throughout the country that have reopened in order to obtain a better idea of how reopening schools affects

139our benefits our students and the rest of the community i understand there are parents that do want to send their kids to school and they should have that option for the parents that don't want to send their children due to safety concerns the below two items and that's time on those comments the next comment is from jordan klaus of cave creek good evening board members i'm a senior at cactus shadows and i'm running to ask you to please vote yes to return us to in-person learning on 9a i do not feel like i'm learning at the level i should be for my senior year my eyes are hurting because i find myself straining to stay focused on the computer screen i miss the teachers staff and campus connection with other students please help me have

140a successful final year at cactus shadows thank you for your time jordan cave creek the next comments are from deanna dusap of cave creek i am writing with a plea to please consider returning to in-person school as planned on september 8th i have two children currently enrolled at horseshoe trails one and fourth grade mandarin immersion and one in kindergarten mandarin immersion over the pa past four weeks we have done our best to adapt distance learning but it's evident that this is not a long-term solution to best educate our children my husband and i both work full-time we are lucky that he is able to work from home but i work outside the home in a job that cannot be done from home when my husband is working it is near impossible to manage two children

141online learning particularly one who is five-year-old and not able to independently follow links manage your schedule and understand the assignments that are being completed further the immersion program needs to be in person for the children especially those just entering the program to grasp and retain the content my daughter watches the videos and repeats the words but is not retaining anything watching video videos and having one zoom call per day is not true immersion my kindergartner who is extremely smart bright social that's time on those comments the next comments are from helene sokol of phoenix good evening dr burdick and governing board members of ccusd 93 i'm writing to you tonight to ask you to consider using the azdhs board metrics for a safe return for schooling i understand this is a difficult position for you

142all to be in unfortunately this is a no-win situation that we're faced with the maricopa county department of health created these metrics as a guide for the districts to determine what would be the optimal time to return safely back to school the numbers are promising but i would like to see a continuous downward trend before opening the schools to full capacity i understand the district doesn't have the funding available to fully equip the staff and teachers with what they need to create a safe environment which large size classes and the determination by the cdc that the 10 to 19 year old age group can spread this virus as easily as adults it is only a matter of time before a small community will be effective we should be looking at other states and discrete districts

143as another tool to gauge our ability to open safely according to the south florida and that is time on her comment the next comment is from winnie sarabia of cave creek in regards to reopening metrics and how ccusd will respond please strongly consider burdick's recommendation of not opening until all three metrics are in the green and the trend is sustained for a period of two weeks prior to returning just a reminder 14 of ccusd student population are in 42 different zip codes and close to half of district employees live in 68 different zip codes i understand that you are trying to meet the needs in many un under all varying circumstances as an institution please consider the health and welfare of your staff and teachers the most vulnerable and the shortage of teachers in the

144state of arizona the impact of the decision to reopen too soon is long-lasting not only for teachers but even for young children while we don't know the long-term impact we know they can contract the virus at different level and can pass to the vulnerable groups whether it's in their home child care teacher staff or the likes i want my child back in school but not at the risk of my family members health or those that i love if we return to school we would need to isolate and that is the time on her comments and dr burdick will continue with more this comment is from jennifer louis dear cece from cave creek dear ccusd governing board it is time to honor your last vote and open our schools for instruction on tuesday september 8th metrics

145have consistently shown that risking cape creek carefree real verdi is extremely low and does not merit the closure of schools other schools charter private and public are already opening or have plans to open very soon with metrics that are much less desirable than cc usd's in fact a mix of greens and yellows are appropriate the metrics have shown for a while now that we should be in hybrid at a minimum additionally why can't teachers get ready this week for ins person learning instead of waiting until the go-ahead and delaying another week of instruction we know that we will be back eventually why not prepare right now you could sacrifice one day of online learning to let teachers get ready rather than sacrifice a week of in person parents have consistently shared their desire to return

146to brick and mortar learning via surveys and letters to the board as well as numerous social media posts as elected officials i'd beg you to listen to the community and open the schools we cannot continue to watch the future of the students in our community diminish this is the end due to time the next comment is from evie peebler of cave creek i am an 8th grader at sonoran trails middle school i have struggled deeply with online school i feel deeply disconnected from my teachers in classroom i am usually the a plus student and now i have season d's over the summer and online school i've felt lonely and sociable if we go back to school many other students and i can go back to our sociable lives i would be willing to go back

147to school under any circumstances stay six feet away wear masks etc thank you for your time the next comment is from tanaz grott and she is in cave creek please we really need to have our children go back to school face to face it is so important that they be there not only for a better education but for socialization as well they are stuck home behind a screen all day by themselves this is not doing any good for them they need to be with their peers and their teachers some children have a rough time at home and school is their saving grace others do not learn as well from school and need extra help and sports they need to have their sports they need to burn off extra energy every year our schools deal with

148the flu and strep throat which i feel is way worse and we have never shut down i beg you to please let our children go back next week if we delay the start of in-person schooling any longer there could be long-term damage to our children they will lose socialization skills some are depressed and others might cope in the wrong ways thank you the next is from dennis day from phoenix board members and dr burdick i write to you today to express my expectations for a safe return to in-person schooling i understand that within the district there are divorce diverse and strongly held opinions as to how and when students teachers and staff should return to campus in the absence of clear leadership from state government on the topic of reopening you're challenged with the daunting

149task of weighing the education needs of students alongside the health risks facing students teachers and staff to arrive at a decision that will bring students back on safe campus safely i share your priority to have students return to school and believe that in order for you to arrive at the best decision on the matter it's important for the voices of teachers to be heard since we have a key stake in the outcome physical factors consider the physical arrangement of the high school the challenges posed by reopening a cactus shadows differ from those from elementary and middle the full complement of 2 000 students and over 100 teachers and staff on the existing campus is unique in the district and that is time on that comment the next comment is from vincent carlson of scottsdale in

150the past few days businesses throughout the state have been allowed to reopen while this is a good thing it's fragile the opening statewide was done despite many of the recommendations from the cdc this creates the possibility for additional infections as it did when we reopened the summer the surge was also compounded by the holiday where more people gathered in large social gatherings our proposed opening day one week after reopening businesses and a day after labor day is a recipe for another surge children are the most likely to be asymptomatic and even with the efforts of adults the youngest have difficulty following mask rules runs ones they may not have practice with in the stores in our town i've seen children and parents from the school my children attend without masks at a time that they

151should practice but also a time that they could be infected i encourage you to look at the results from school openings elsewhere in the nation on the nea school and campus covid 19 reporting site there are 12 reports for arizona and hundreds nationwide link provided below and that is time on that comment the next comment is from larry and angeli and they are in cave creek our family strongly requests that the schools be opened for in-person learning on or before september 8th 2020. parents of tristan triphoy students at cactus shadows the next comment is from christina stinson beck from scottsdale dear dr burdick and governing board thank you for taking the time to read and consider public comments on this matter in my opinion the most fair and appropriate approach would be to follow the

152mcdph metrics for returning to school when the department of public health determines it is safe to return to in-person school then we can set the date this is much more sensible than returning on a date without significance let's be smart and stay safe the next comment is from jennifer jacobs of cave creek i am writing to submit my comments for the school start date of september 8. i have two children in the district an 8th grader at snoring trails sixth grader at horseshoe trails the online schooling is not working for our family they receive very little actual online instruction and the rest of the time they watch pre-recorded videos half the time the internet and or zoom is not cooperating they're frustrated and discouraged this is no way to learn and they are already suffering

153they need to socially interact with others and their teachers we have met the benchmarks to return to in person and thus should be allowed to do so please let us return to you in person on september 8th the next comment is from carol leonhardt of cave creed comment to be read for the rector record parents have been given the choice to keep their students home and learning online but teachers have not been given the same choice teachers want to be in the classroom with their kids but for many that means putting their own health or that of their families at risk they're having to decide between their job and the health insurance it provides or their lives is that a fair choice for staff to make these are people who work endless hours for not

154much pay in a position that is by so many underappreciated teachers are being bashed and blamed all over the country as if they caused the virus and are a lazy bunch who just don't want to work but we know this is not true i ask all the parents out there why is your child sitting in a classroom that will look so far from normal instead of in front of a computer the technology of our world and future for a couple months more important than their health or life as well as that of their teachers schools are opening around the country and the virus is spreading quickly and crowded places where children and young adults are put together that is the end of time the next comment is from jessica fitzwater of cape creek i write

155to you for the fourth time and what seems deaf ears i am beyond disappointed with the district and the decisions being made for my son when we moved here one of the highlights was the amazing school district and many parents raved about it i'm disappointed as i don't see you putting children first in the decisions you're making you have not listened to the community or given us a fair option for in-person learning you've chosen fear over facts you have failed my child and many others like him the science and data does not support another postponement of the opening date october 12th is unacceptable and i'm not alone in my feelings i was joined by at least 50 other parents and students at a rally we help at the district to keep our opening date of

1569 8 i wrote to mrs burdick and you assured me that the opening date was 9 8 dismissed my fears that you would be pushing the opening date as that hasn't been discussed i find very unlikely considering only two weeks later you called an emergency meeting how is it possible things only change for the better in those two weeks and that is time on that comment dr pratt will make the next comments the next comment is from chris scott from scottsdale dear governing board of the cape creek and wright school district i'm a father of a student in the special education department in the district i am kindly asking the board to vote to safely open schools with face-to-face learning on september 8th 2020. it's heartbreaking to watch my child struggle that goes for any

157parent for those of us with children with special needs watching their struggle with distance learning is a daily battle it is not sustainable long term without significant harm to the student population this student population i worry about what will happen if my child doesn't go back face-to-face learning practicing social skills a major component of special needs education is tough to do in isolation i the much dreaded r word is recession but also regression my son is not only failing falling behind academically but he is missing developmental milestones and losing key skills necessary for an independent life not going back as planned on september 8 2020 would be disastrous for our children and it would take a toll on already stressed families thank you for your time that is the end of that comment the next

158comment is from frank leonhardt from cave creek i urge you not to open schools prematurely please do not put our students and teachers at risk according to the academic of american pediatrics the rate of children infected with covenant 19 has increased from five percent to nine percent between may and august that rate increase has occurred with only partial reopening of the community and with schools still closed should schools open while community spread is still present that rate is bound to increase dramatically online learning is not ideal but it is working children are learning and they are not getting sick we are fortunate enough to have the infrastructure in our community to provide it is it ideal no but this is not a forever situation it's a temporary pause of normalcy while we get the virus

159contained something that will take everyone to do their part 2020 is a year of the unimaginable sacrifices are having to be made but those sacrifices would not be should not be the lives of our children or their teachers that is the end of that comment next comment is from don huttoling hoteling from scottsdale i support i strongly support ccosd schools keeping the opening date for in-person learning on september 8 2020. most recent data currently has two of the metrics in the green for ccsd with the metric that is being yellow is yellow being 34.47 cases per 100 000 people per the maricopa county department of public health they recommend the following benchmark thresholds to be met in order to offer the in-person learning two consecutive weeks with new cases below 100 per per 100 000

160people two consecutive weeks with less than seven percent positivity and two consecutive weeks of covid-like illness below ten percent these benchmark thresholds have been met for ccosd ccosd is already offering hybrid learning and with giving the option for those who wish to have their students in online school to be online schools should be reopened on september 8th 2020 for the students whose families have chosen in person learning i have two students and that is the end of time for that comment the next comment is from elizabeth gonzalez from scottsdale i'm in favor of opening schools back up next month online school and zoom calls are showing to be an ineffective way for children to learn lots of parents are working from home leaving a child on their own to navigate through canvas for assignments and

161zoom calls having children learn to write their letters on a computer with a mouse is not ideal what happened to only having 30 minutes of screen time a day because anything longer is bad for kids eyes and causes over stimulation especially for the younger kids there has been a significant drop in covet cases a survey has already taken was already taken showing that 57 percent of parents slash caretakers want to send their kids back to school in person full time what happened to the majority rules parents have the option to keep their children home if they are not comfortable or if the child has a compromised immune system waiting for the perfect metric scientific data to present itself is an in an imperfect constantly changing world will never be satisfactory to people who are in

162defiance of opening schools that is the end of that comment because of time the next comment is from tiffany johnston from cave creek i am writing today to strongly voice my support of returning to in-person school on september 8th we have reached two of three benchmarks and the third is highly subjective and could have questionable numbers we are also very close too close to wait until october school is essential school is needed everything else has opened numbers are dropping sports are happening clubs should happen college numbers are minimal with kids living in close quarters please give please kids need school they want school online education is not as effective as in person that is the end of that comment next comment is kristin dreyer from cave creek to the board teachers and staff of ccosd

163i want to start by thanking you for all the work you have done during these unprecedented times i currently have two children who attend elementary school in the cave creek district after reading your agenda items i have grown concerned with the direction that is being taken i am strongly asking the board to vote open to vote opening school safely on september 8th 2020. if they push the date back then i am strongly recommending they go based on recommendations of two weeks on the recommendations of two weeks i have been a medical provider for over 10 years and have been actively managing patients in the intensive care unit during this pandemic i have seen cova up close and i have seen the serious nature of this disease with that said i urge you to vote yes

164to open schools there through this time we have seen how covet affects children and the rate of transmission from child to child and child to adults is very low what burdens my heart most is the health is a health as a health care provider is the data we can't quantify at this time and that's the end of time for that comment the next comment is from james sauer from tempe please continue to support the azde dhs metrics for safe reopening to schools the guidelines contained within within help ensure that all students and staff are safe as we continue to deal with the pandemic we need to continue to slow the virus so we can get back to education safely and quicker than we otherwise would if potential setbacks occur in our failure to follow precautions

165we must entrust that azdhs has the strongest authority to make decisions as it relates to health risks in our community please consider the phase reopening plans of neighboring districts as well as there are certainly many students as well as staff that do not live within the district thank you the next comment is from jennifer bulwitt from cave creek my husband and i are in favor of our children returning back to school full-time or at minimum part-time i want my children to be able to participate in sports as well i am not concerned with social distancing i would prefer my elementary school aged child did not have to wear a mask there they have been home for six months now our numbers in arizona are fine it's time to go back to school i hope that

166my children's teachers have whatever ppe they feel necessary for their job as a nurse i use a mask and wash hands hand sanitizer and wipe and wipes to clean surfaces that's the end of that comment the next comment is from robert young from cave creek my wife and i along with many other cave creek usd parents are very concerned about the ability for our child to return to the classroom for face-to-face instruction this coming tuesday the 8th we understand that each parent has a right to address their individual concerns for their children and family safety however we believe the child's education is just as if not more important the current situation has been a strain on many families including ours in keeping up with our daily duties as business owners employees parents and now part-time

167teachers unfortunately the online option is not working for us at all and we feel our daughter's education is suffering greatly without the ability to work directly with a teacher in person we certainly understand the difficult decision you must make as advocates for our district we as advocates for our district we believe you have the children's best interest at heart we agree you must weigh the effect this may have to your employees health as well after reading and talking with the medical experts on this subject we do not believe waiting another month or six months is going to have much if any impact and that's the end of that comment for time uh the next comment is from dr and mrs trollup from scottsdale we believe the decision to abide by the azdhs guidelines is the

168appropriate and best course of action for our most important assets our children and our teachers we have an obligation to protect both parties we ask that the board use their own standards one value parents as the child's first and best teacher two every student will have the opportunity to learn in a safe environment three develop and adhere to policies that create a healthy learning environment the decision to not allow in-person classes is the best course of action until our health standards are officially met by opening our schools too early is a lack of respect for teachers across our school community and demonstrates that safety is not the number one priority for our children and the staff the azdhs dashboard can be interpreted differently if the data is extrapolated inaccurately which we see other schools and

169even parents doing the ccosd board members agreed to meeting the state benchmarks in the july 20th meeting acknowledging and that's the end of that comment for time and mrs scotto will continue [Music] the next comment is from andrew cuppo of scottsdale they're governing board members i write today to encourage and support your consideration of the azdhs metrics for a safe reopening i respectfully ask that the district adopt these metrics and their associated guidelines and then implement a quote phased reopening end quote of ccusd schools i have been a member of the ccusd family for over 26 years from preschooler to graduate to proud faculty member as a student in ccusd i trusted my teachers and school administrators with my safety and education now as a member of the ccosd staff i do not take this

170responsibility lightly fortunately there is good news we don't have to make the decision alone the guidelines set forth by the state and the clear data compiled by maricopa county provide a straightforward and pragmatic approach to a safe return to school we must follow them while these guidelines require additional precautions that the district has already indicated won't be feasible they are a solid road map we cannot afford to disregard them furthermore ccosd schools are attended and staffed by many who live outside our district boundaries and that is time on that comment the next comment is from susie gabald gibadlow of cave creek dear dr burdick it is imperative that our children go back to the classroom in their schools in ccusd be a leader and not a follower as a superintendent and show that ccusd is

171doing what is best for the students teachers are essential workers and need to perform their jobs or turn in their teaching contracts public schools are the only escape from abusive homes for many children the current medical statistics and facts do not support the school closures this is being done selfishly by you teachers parents and kids should have the choice to return to school immediately why did our previous votes not matter you are still calling all of the shots which is unjust and unfair do you realize the damage you are doing to some children by forcing them to be locked in their homes or rooms all day and sit in front of a computer kids need social interaction they need to learn how to function out of the real world setting and not locked inside their

172room behind a computer with zero interaction to the outside world they need social interaction to learn to become functioning and effective adults and human beings this cannot be done the way you are forcing our kids to learn you are teaching them fear and antisocial behaviors that will be damaging to many of them for months and years to come and that is time on that comment the next comment is from alyssa bauman of cave creek first off as a parent with three children in the cave creek school district i would like to say thank you thank you for the adjustments you've all made to your lives and your methods of teaching as well as as we all navigate these uncharted waters together specifically in regard to our principle mr pentonato of horseshoe trails my family has

173been more than pleased with the communication and support he has provided we feel confident we can approach our school's administration with concerns and questions and that is extremely important to us having said that i do have strong concerns about postponing the start of the school year after a few weeks or even months where i agree monitoring numbers of cases in our area is an important factor consider there are so many others of equal if not more importance notably the effect distance learning is having on students psychological and emotional well-being the cdc exp explicitly states quote extended school closure is harmful to children it can lead to severe learning loss and the need for in-person instruction is particularly important for students with heightened behavioral needs end quote and that is time on that comment the next

174comment is from jennifer sento of phoenix hello my name is jennifer cento and i'm an english teacher at cactus shadows i'm writing to you to ask that you consider the metrics when choosing an in-person learning start day i ask that we follow governor ducey's recommendation of waiting until all three metrics be met for 14 consecutive days before we return this is the only the only truly safe way to return to in-person learning my classroom is roughly 30 feet by 25 feet not all of which is usable space and while i have one of the largest classrooms of my entire department if i were not give each desk a six foot bubble i would only be able to fit roughly 17 desks in my room my largest class has 34 students the quote social distancing end

175quote that is being done when desks is only about a foot and a half which is not enough to keep my students on me safe for the past three years i have gladly greeted my students with a bright smile every day at my door i love being a teacher and i love seeing my students faces every day my job is to engage students implement state and school standards and most importantly keep my students safe that's time on that comment the next comment is from jason and tersa cortullo dear members of the board we want to relay our concerns as parents of our two ccusd daughters sixth and eighth grade as we continue to navigate through covet 19 pandemic as parents we understand the concerns of our community however we are also concerned about the educational

176and social well-being of our daughters online school has been very challenging for our daughters the lack of structure and human connection that cannot possibly be replaced with a computer is palatable in our home our daughter's misconnecting with their teachers and their friends they miss being able to talk and connect in real time as parents we foresee the potential damage that prolonging in-person school can bear on our daughters we plead with you to open up our schools as a nurse practitioner working in the healthcare field i have been on the front line since the beginning of this pandemic i understand fear and uncertainty nonetheless i wake up every day and risk exposure for the better of my patients this is what you do when one chooses a career in public service and that is time on

177that comment next comment is from jason erickson of cave creek dear governing board members i am a parent to a fourth grade student at black mountain a husband to a teacher and a cave creek community member for the past 19 years and i urge the board to vote and adopt the arizona metrics for a safe reopening to in-person schools ccusd is not following the cdc recommendations for social distancing so follow following the science and metrics for a safe reopening is especially important for the safety of students teachers and community members following the metrics will ensure sufficient data is utilized so that the community spread of covet is mitigated further i encourage the board to follow a delayed opening like the surrounding districts to ours have chosen to do additionally i would encourage the governing board

178to consider a phased opening to further protect our students teacher and community members i believe moving too quickly will lead to school closures again the effects of attending school on physical campus and then having to return to distance learning model quickly again is far more harmful to students emotional well-being please do what is right that's time on that comment the next comment is from colleen niece of cave creek dear superintendent burdick and ccusd board members i'm writing this letter to express my strong concern about your intention to delay in person school you have already delayed it long enough you prematurely voted to delay it passed the august 17th date but we accepted that decision with the september 8 start date now that's september 8 is a week away we should be focusing our attention on

179getting these kids back in school not focusing on yet another delay all of the metrics have been met for in-person school to begin we are green in all three metrics although one metric is mistakenly showing yellow it's been extremely frustrating to allow our kids futures to lie in the hands of numbers that aren't being reported correctly i will state the obvious here kids need in-person instruction kids need to be around their peers our kids have been on screens for six months enough already let them live their lives those who have fears about their health and safety as it relates to the coronavirus should remain in aoe you gave us two choices that's time on those comments the next comments are from catherine fay of scottsdale i'm in disbelief that the ccusd administration has the audacity

180to recommend another postponement i don't know understand why we are even having this discussion again please listen to the science and the maricopa county metrics when i spoke with maricopa county public health directors department they said do not focus on the colors as they can be incorrect but rather focus on the numeric metric data and how it aligns to their recommendations this is received right off their website recommendations for resuming in-person learning mcd ph recommends the following benchmark thresholds to be met prior to offering any in-person learning cases two consecutive weeks with new cases rates below 100 per 100 000 people or adhs has determined that a decline in weekly average cases for two consecutive weeks will also meet the case metric pcr test percent positivity two consecutive weeks with less than seven percent positivity

181covet like illness percentage or of hospital visits two consecutive weeks with percent of hospital visits and that's time for those comments excuse me the next comments are from devon glasgow of cave creek well i will be disappointed with anything less than a return to campus on september 8th i simply cannot understand why dr burdick would propose that even once the metrics are met in person classes would not resume for more than a week schools should already be prepared to welcome students on september 8th this recommendation is irresponsible and shows a lack of readiness on the part of administrators and teachers there have been months to they have been months to prepare for our students return any additional time needed clearly shows that the districts lack the districts lack urgency to allow a return to campus

182for those who chose that option i understand it may take a week to get the school cafeterias up and running but don't use that as an excuse to delay in person learning any longer there is an online option for the families who want or need it the state already acknowledges a nearly two week delay in their metric and the rest of the community should not be punished any longer those are the end of her comments the next comments are from melissa adelson of cave creek dear ccusd board we trust you to keep our children safe every day when we send our kids to school we are trusting you with their lives yes the numbers are encouraging and we are trending in the right direction but the fact is we have not met the required benchmarks

183to return to school safely i am concerned about the lack of safety protocols in place for returning to in person do schools have firm plans in place for the eighth from what i have heard there is no clear protocol and what has been suggested is not very encouraging i am concerned that we will open and in a week or two shut down again this would be extremely disruptive to the students families and teachers if we must shut back down because of cases in the schools we now are looking at quarantining and possibility of sick teachers staff and students now students are missing instruction and education time families are now scrambling again and trying to yet again figure out child care large companies and organizations are all going and staying virtual until the end of the

184year or longer these people are grown adults who know how to socially and those are the time for those comments and dr burdick will continue the next comment is from bonnie daley of cave creek president hill vice president james rich members janet busby scott brown and beth hatcher i am writing to you as a concerned parent in the cave creek unified school district i was a parent of two children in the district for nine years and during that time i was not only involved in fundraising for each of the three schools my children attended but i also held various board and committee positions today however i'm writing to you as a parent of one of your teachers and i feel that mine is a different voice that should be heard and considered today as you

185make your decision on when our schools will return to in-person classes covet 19 is a serious issue not to be taken lightly and i know that you and your fellow board members are not taking the situation as such but i'd like to call your attention to how the district is treating your teachers and what the expectations are for them on a daily basis you also should know that i'm a caterer with food handlers and certified profession food handlers certification so i know a bit about contamination sanitization processes my daughter was given a spray bottle the other day with a nondescript yellow liquid in it along with five microfiber cloths she was told that she and her fellow teachers are to clean each desk uh and that is the end of that comment by time the

186next comment is from robert holt of cave creek i'm in seventh grade at sonoran trails i have met new friends in my classes on zoom and we all hang out together at places like desert ridge and have fun we want the same thing with school we have never been asked what we want dr burdick why have you never asked us do we not matter covet is coveted we are not sick and we don't care if we wear masks we want to be back in school if my mom and step dad and my friends parents let us hang out then why don't you open our school we deserve more the next comment is from shannon johnson of scottsdale over the last few weeks i have witnessed my girls attempting online school there have been many challenges

187and distractions that they are definitely affecting their learning please take this into consideration these kids need to be back face to face with teachers and peers for effective learning thank you from a concerned parent the next comment is from mitzi palma of cave creek i'm a parent of a junior and sophomore both kids are ready for return to school and as a family we're ready for taking all precautions necessary according to this board to help make this happen my daughter had a 4.2 gpa last year and is struggling trying to do online math she learns math much better when in a classroom environment where she can see the teacher and have the benefits of other kids questions she's very stressed out and worried about her grades please do whatever you can to help cc usd

188come back on september 8 2020. thank you for your consideration the next comment is from sheila shaffer of carefree i am making the request to open schools as intended on september 8 2020 as follows one the cdc's current data indicates six percent of the one thousand one hundred sixty one thousand three hundred and ninety two reported u.s coronavirus deaths are directly related to covet 19. deaths by kovitz solely without other primary medical condition conditions is at 9683. this data revision demonstrates covid as a secondary or tier carry occurrence and other medical reasons are primarily causal in the balance of these cases two at this point it can be argued it's more harmful keeping children from school social socialization face-to-face education mental health and emotional health and well-being are impacted three cc usd potential funding loss

189chandler school district lost 21 million due to student attendance and parents taking their children elsewhere article and santan sun times they miss their student projections i want to see ccusd flourish and that is time for that comment the next comment is from dana smalley of scottsdale i am the parent of two children that attend school in ccusd my sixth grade student is in the first mandarin immersion class at horseshoe trails we've invested years into mandarin program and we are now forced between two very poor options risk our health and our lives to continue mandarin or leave horseshoe trails both my sixth grade child and i have underlying health issues that put us at risk of getting seriously ill from exposure to covet 19. we would love to stay with the mandarin immersion program and stay

190with the class that's been together since kinder however the risks associated with the return to in-person learning are not tolerable we all acknowledge that the in-person learning is best for the kids but at what costs will my child be better off if he contracts covet 19 and brings it home what long-term health consequences would she suffer should she get sick and survive if she loses a parent or grandparent will we think it was all worth it my concerns also include the faculty and staff of our schools what death rate of our teachers is an acceptable death rate i implore you to continue online learning that is time for that comment the next comment is from scott levine of phoenix dear ccusd board members and superintendent dr burdick i'm writing you today as a veteran teacher

191of 18 years in the district during this time i have not only watched my own children graduate from cactus shadows but also the children of over half the current board members i am proud to be a part not only of the school district but the community as a whole and i look forward to continuing my service as an educator and mentor however times have changed drastically in the last six months we're entering new unexplored territory as stakeholders in this community given this and the facts i implore you to defer those who are best equipped to make the decisions regarding returning to live instruction we must listen to medical professionals and the scientific community during these difficult times we must follow the prescribed guidelines of green green green for consecutive weeks before we even consider coming

192back as someone who misses and longs for interaction with his students and colleagues i understand what a difficult decision this is and i understand the logic of using a hybrid or phase-in model my concern is do these options effectively require funding and support and that is the time for that comment the next comment is from abby albrecht of phoenix dear cc usd board dr burdick and all others this may concern my children have been learning online with their desert willow teachers since the start of school and have been handling it better than expected this is by no small part of their amazing and prepared teachers as much as i would like to see them physically back in class furthering their education and socializing which has been greatly missed i would like you to consider pushing

193the in-person start date back i know there is a strain on families of parents that work out of the home i understand the complexity of your decision but quite simply the metrics have not been met it seems counterintuitive to open school to have it closed when the virus runs through classrooms i have the utmost faith in our staff and teachers although i do believe it's difficult to account for every child their family beliefs and children who are too young to understand and act appropriately or children who may not care why put our population including teachers and staff at risk in closing i'm aware that many districts surrounding ours have pushed consider their logic and follow suits thank you for your time the next comment is from hayley vago phoenix dear governing board members i write

194to you today to encourage the adoption of the arizona department of health services metrics for a safe reopening your support of these metrics has would not only ensure teachers peace of mind but it's necessary for the safety of students ccusd has prioritized health and safety high quality teaching and learning timely communication and physical social emotional needs is the pillars for returning with excellence and it is imperative we keep these as main priorities i want members to know that i want to be teaching in person teaching online has posed new struggles every day and increase my daily workload immensely however teaching online only requires me to focus on one thing teaching if returning to school is such a high priority the level of teaching will unfortunately suffer adding more policies procedures and tasks to our already

195overloaded list of responsibilities as educators without proper guidance or training will set us up for failure implementing a phase reopening will help keep safety and high quality education top priorities without bombarding teachers that is time on that comment the next comment is from melissa grass of cave creek data from mcd ph indicates cave creek unified school district meets the criteria for hybrid learning with on-site support and maricopa county is on track to meet all three benchmarks in the next few days for in-person learning can you please explain to all the parents that you have chosen the in-person option why you would go against the recommendation from mcdph benchmarks number two also cave creek unified school district has had the last six months to prepare for in-person learning can you please explain why there could be

196any possible delay to delay other than benchmarks and three what are the benchmarks to judge the efficacy of online learning and those complete those comments and dr pratt will continue the next comment is from john craigo from phoenix dear members of the board i would first like to publicly thank all the hard work and efforts put in by our schools teachers educators and staff during this crazy time as a parent with two children at horseshoe trails i am grateful second i would like for the board to consider the practical benefits of a return to in-person learning some of these benefits include social interaction social learning increased interaction with teachers as well as improve mental health across the board for students and teachers and parents at home who parents at home who are trying to juggle

197work along with education responsibilities with decreased numbers in covet cases and increased number of businesses opening back up i believe now is the time for our schools to return we can do so wisely safely and with the support from our community thank you that is the end of that comment the next comment from is from kathleen roberson from phoenix i would like to thank the governing board for their hard work and difficult work trying to establish a safe and healthy pathway for returning to in-person instruction in school this year as a parent i am not ready to send my elementary child age kids back to school if school is reopened for in-person instruction on september 8th my children will not return while distance learning is not ideal their awesome teachers at desert willow are handling

198remote learning with creativity and grace the positive attitudes of their teachers have engaged my children and they are still excited to see them and go to school each day on the other hand i don't believe it is possible to create and maintain an environment that will keep them or teachers or other staff safe in their for in-person instruction as a teacher i do not feel safe returning to my class classroom either i respectfully encourage the board to delay the reopening of our schools at a minimum until the metrics set by the department of health are met and ideally until a vaccine is widely available and it is truly safe to return that is the end of those comments the next comments come from destiny destiny voida from cave creek as a parent of a first

199and fourth grader in our ccosd i firmly believe now it is now is not the time to return to in-person brick-and-mortar learning we are currently enrolled in the distance learning option with an eventual return to brick and mortar at first i resisted but i have come to embrace and appreciate the distance learning our teachers are providing our children all in the pursuit of safety for those of us who have not yet contracted the virus it remains a potent a potent existential threat to our livelihood uh and our loved ones you hear and read it over and again once you become sick nothing else in the world matters except your health you cannot bring back a human life from death but you can catch a human being up to speed in regards to education for someone

200who has witnessed the pain and suffering in our community of losing a loved one to this virus i encourage you to remember the following you the ccosd governing board could potentially decide the fate of whether a child parent or grandparent falls victim to a life-threatening virus that is the undue to time the next comment is from andrew kane from phoenix in consideration of the metrics presented under this agenda item i would like to encourage the ccosd board to also consider the intangible effects of a substantial virtual with online support scenario as i'm sure has been stated many times in many forms across a variety of shared mediums a forced non-traditional learning environment for our children is not an acceptable new normal or way of life there will be generational consequences if we continue this path

201in some ways children and parents will adapt and in others ways there will be irreparable harm that we we will that we have yet to see or understand we are willing to succumb to fear over creating a responsible plan for our children's return and supplying the resources to get there waiting for the green is like chasing unicorns our numbers continue to decline our curve continues to flatten yet we don't meet the unattainable standard and with the reopening of many community gathering places movie theaters gyms etc that our children frequent how will it ever become more attainable than the past couple of months and that is the end due to time for for those comments the next uh comment is from vanessa vanessa clifton from cave creek good evening president hill members of the board and

202dr burdick my name is vanessa clifton and i have three children who are at this time former csusd students we found ourselves faced with a difficult situation that every parent has been coping with over the last several months what is right the right choice for our children for the fall for us the right choice fell outside csusd i pray that this decision remains a temporary one our family has been deeply ingrained in the ccosd community for the last seven years and we want nothing more than to return to schools and staff with we have grown to love so dear we i will i would respectfully request a re-evaluation of the return to school metric data that impacts our district i find there to be conflicting information provided by arizona department of health services we are

203all aware that the return to in-person learning is measured by three metrics involving the number of cases potential positivity and covert like illness statistics i feel like it is important to note that the metrics that determine the red yellow and green status do not match okay i'm sorry that ends that comment with time for time the next comment is steve weiss from scottsdale please consider supporting the administration's recommendation to follow the state metrics and benchmarks of green green green the safety of our kids and teachers should be top priority the numbers are looking better every day it should not be too much longer years from now no one is going to remember whether we opened on september 9th or october 9th but they will remember if we made a decision that rushed the kids back

204to campus too soon and then it backfires the teachers and administration administrators have done a great job on the temporary online version of school the kids are on a schedule and with their teachers and classmates on zoom while it may not be perfect under the circumstances it's certainly acceptable for a temporary period of time in addition other schools are reopening around the valley so so we have the opportunity to watch what happens with them that should answer a lot of questions that is the end of that comment the next comment is from and i apologize if i mispronounced suhair from scottsdale i have a couple of questions one the number of students in my daughter's classes range from 25 to 39 students if every student wanted to attend school in person how is the social

205justice thing in class rooms going to be enforced i don't think the classes are big enough for that two is the hybrid school attending an option i.e students with last names a through k for example attends monday wednesday and friday while the rest of the class attends tuesdays and thursdays then the following week the students swap days is this option being entertained number three it is important for kids to attend school for socialization purposes but at the same time it is more important to be safe what kind of balance are you planning to discuss regards that is the uh end of that comment uh the next comment is from kaden thomas from cave creek my name is kaden thomas i'm in 8th grade at snoring trails i think school should still start on september 8th

206and not extend to october 12th for many reasons the first reason that i don't want it to it extended is because i want to be able to socialize with all my friends in school and go back to learning in person and being a part of school sports secondly is that during zoom classes the teacher starts to cut out and it's very hard to hear the teacher and everyone in the class freezes up and it is just really annoying for it to happen to me and i'm pretty sure it happens to a lot of other students as well every single day third i am starting to get really claustrophobic online whereas if we are in person i would know what to do most of the time because that is what i'm used to fourth some things

207are just really confusing online whereas in person if we were in person i would know what to do fifth some teachers have noise going on in the background and they still wind up teaching through it but it is really frustrating because they don't stop it and it's very hard to concentrate if we were in class that wouldn't be happening and that is the end for time on that comment the next comment is from rod and joad joanne paradise from cave creek i am grateful that we have this option an opportunity to email in any comments we would like to have heard at the school board meetings most importantly the one scheduled for tonight so for that i want to say thank you i also want to say thank you to those who serve our community

208in this way and who set up step up to run and be elected as representatives of our community and in particular our youth and our education and their education however it unfortunately feels like i'm writing this email in vain that all decisions have already been made and tonight's meeting is just to file a procedure and that individual comments or thoughts will be read and not necessarily heard i hope this is not the case i hope those who was voting and making decisions will take themselves back in time to when their children were young and impressionable it is easy as we each go through different stages of parenting to become consumed in the stage we are currently in and that which directs directly impacts our daily lives and that of our children such as when our

209children were infants or toddlers we knew that commitment and sacrifice necessary and we all know oh and and that is the end for time on that comment the next comment is from ron and bridget decker from cave creek in response to agenda 4.2 whether in-person schooling should be delayed we as parents of first grade twins have concerns first we chose this school district based on the language immersion offerings they are both in one of the immersion programs which means that half their day is in the language and that neither they nor my husband or i understand we feel that this type of program requires children to be in an immersed face-to-face environment for them to fully grasp and advance in their language abilities this is unique to other school districts again one of the main

210reasons we chose ccosd schools secondly we as a family are personally struggling and i know we are not alone with the loss of face-to-face in-service resource programs that our son is eligible for and not has not received since march the online weekly meetings do not accomplish what the in-person hands-on meetings do there is a reason school starts at age five for all kids but there's also a need for some to receive extra support in strengthening their social and emotional intelligence we chose okay and that is the end of comments due to time and mrs scotto will take it from here president hill that concludes the comments for item 4.2 okay so thank you um it is 8 42 we are gonna take a five minute break we'll come back at 8 47 8 48 depending

211on how all of our cup our computers i'm just 8 48. um so you have five and a half minutes um i would suggest that those of us that are on this call please mute your video and also turn off your video and mute your microphone for the time being we will resume at 8 48. it is 8 48 let me just see real quick um we have three [Music] four on one more more board member to click on video and i see dr martin president hill yes uh i'm trying to get on and it's saying i can't start the video because the host has stopped it okay so i'm not sure how to get back on there we go thank you okay uh we're all back you ready okay item 4.2 consideration the maricopa

212county department of public health ncd ph metrics for safe return in person school presented by dr bernick and everyone again while there's a presentation just please me to keep paper down and then i'll let everyone know when to pop back on thank you president hill governing board members and those that are listening on youtube at the governing board special meeting on july 20th the governing board approved a return to in-person school for september 8 2020. since that time the arizona department of health services and maricopa county department of public health have designed metrics to guide a safe opening of schools the metrics are two weeks below 100 cases per 100 000 not including the current week two weeks with percent positivity below seven percent not including the current week and two weeks with hospital visits

213due to covet-like illnesses below ten percent currently the metrics show ccusd as yellow on metric one green on metric two and green on metric three we're greatly appreciative that the maricopa county department of public health was able to provide benchmarks drill down to the district level as well as zip code level in order to use data that the medical professionals in our state deemed acceptable for a safe opening the dashboards updated every thursday for the data covering a two-week period ending 12 days earlier and i want to go back to what i read in the beginning of this paragraph if you look at the past week it was yellow green green however if you go back to look at the previous two weeks it was yellow yellow green additional ccusd specific information is that our

214683 out of district students or 14 of them live in 42 zip codes out of those 42 zip codes one is green 29 are in the yellow and 10 are in the red two zip codes show no results our 379 staff members who do not live in our boundaries or 42 percent of our staff live in 68 other zip codes 23 of those zip codes are in the red 45 are in the yellow and 8 showed no results although all school class sizes average within the targets for class loading at all schools cactus shadows high school has 20 percent of their sections with over 30 students in five percent of their teachers classrooms which does not allow for physical distancing there is a writer named ralph marston and he wrote you always have the opportunity

215to make a good decision yet you'll rarely be able to make a perfect decision and this of course is never more evident than now as we undertake this extremely difficult decision and so i would like to show a powerpoint before making the um actual motion so i know the board has seen this in their package and we are going to share it on the screen so if we go to the second page of the powerpoint you can see here that these are the arizona department of health services benchmarks for minimal moderate and substantial so minimal community spread is evidence of isolated cases or limited community transmission case investigations underway no evidence of exposure in a large communal setting that would be green you can see moderate community spread or yellow sustained transmission with high likelihood

216or confirmed exposure within communal settings and potential for rapid increase in cases and then you can see the substantial or red substantial community spread is large-scale controlled community transmission including communal settings such as in schools and workplaces and the arizona department of health services further defines community spread levels within the thresholds that you see below the next slide shows us also metrics from the arizona department of health services it's just another way to show the data you can see the benchmark for two weeks below 100 cases per 100 000 is the first graph it says or a decline in weekly average cases for two consecutive weeks although the maricopa county department of public health told us to use the first benchmark they felt that was um more conducive to safety for public school districts the

217percent positivity is the middle benchmark two weeks with percent positivity below seven percent not including the current week and they would advise then to go to hybrid and then the last one is covid like illness or two weeks with hospital visits due to covet-like illness below 10 percent and you can see listed the different data sources there on to the next slide dr verdict can i interrupt real quick sure we are at uh 8 54. we're definitely not gonna be done before nine o'clock and for our protocol we need to take a vote to move to extend this meeting past nine o'clock do i have a motion to extend so moved i have a second second okay so a second um so we have a motion we need to move to extend meeting past nine

218o'clock um remember uh rich hi i'm an i hatcher yeah uh i um usb i brown i okay sorry dr burdick that's okay the next slide is going to show the dates that are being used for the um metrics that are being displayed by the county and the state benchmarks so i need the next slide there we go so you can see if you look at the dashboard update and these this dashboard is updated every thursday typically after 4 pm that if you look at august 27th which was last thursday the date time period used was august 2nd through 8th and august 9th through 15th there is a 12-day lag when they do show us the current dashboard for the week on a thursday and that is why you've heard some districts say that they're

219delaying a few weeks before going back because they are um using the suggestion that was made by the maricopa department of public health to remember that there is a 12-day leg and if they go back too soon after seeing the two-week benchmark it could mean that the information could change again before they actually go back and then you see september 3rd which will be this coming thursday and the data that will be posted then is august 9th through 15th and august 16th through august 22nd so again accounting for a 12-day lag there the next slide talks about additional considerations for offering in-person instruction a lot of this is going to be repetitive so the arizona department of health services said the following benchmarks bus must be met prior to offering traditional in person so cases

220two-week decline again uh percent positively to positivity positivity excuse me we've had to do a lot of talking tonight two weeks with less than seven percent for hybrid and it would be less than five percent for everyone going back like normal coveted like illness syndromic surveillance is two weeks with hospital visits due to covet-like illnesses below 10 the next slide are recommendations from our county again they say use our county website for data sourcing to see the metrics use the district boundaries or average if impacted zip codes are over the county and so we've been using our district zip codes full in-person on-site learning for green which is below five percent for two weeks and consult the maricopa department of public health for classroom site or district closures which we've had many people ask us

221what will you do if the metrics start to go back and so the health department has said for us to monitor them and to contact them the next slide shows our district so you can see the bluish outline hard to see on this slide but um in the middle of the screen that is our uh school district and the miles from the um northern part of the district down to the very southern point and of course east to west and you can see that from the last week it is yellow the next slide is the one that most of us are using very um often to see what the benchmarks are so there was a glitch in the system which was very frustrating last week i was finally able um after getting um i want

222to compliment the maricopa department of public health for not only answering my phone call and staying on the phone for 45 minutes until they could determine what was wrong but also then following it up with actual written email from dr scott from the maricopa department of public health so we were able to get the glitch fixed so what you see here is for the past week again this is 12 days back we were yellow for cases per 100 000 people green for percent positivity and green for covet-like illness however we've been asked to look at two weeks so if you go to the second half you see that if the two-week data and i hadn't showed you the dates for those um on the previous slide cases per 100 000 people were 32.83 and still

223yellow percent positivity was 5.5 percent and yellow and covalent illness was 3 in green so my recommendations then on the next slide are to use the 14 day average for data collection on the website prioritize our district boundary data as opposed to using county or just zip codes use the same data source and analysis for comparisons throughout this process and throughout the weeks as we've been doing again look for the positivity rate uh two for week average two week average at less than five percent which we now have uh for one week a two week average for less than ten cases per 100 000 and a two week average of covet like less than five percent combination of percent of hospital and er visits which we also have in the green decisions for closures of

224classrooms buildings or district would be in consultation in the future with our administration and the maricopa department of public health per the board resolution that the board approved on july 20th so what that means if all of a sudden there was a spike of cases or we have two cases in a school where the students are not typically in the same classrooms we are to give that information to the health department and they will help us decide whether or not after doing back tracing we would need to close the school or perhaps just some classrooms and then full safety protocols implemented across all the sites until clearance from the health department and those would be our mitigation or logistics plan that um the board saw uh months ago that we put together and it's posted

225on our website and so at this point i'd like to make the motion so the administration would recommend that the governing board take the following action return to school for in-person learning using the maricopa county department of public health metrics for ccusd when the metrics show green green green for the three maricopa county department of public health benchmarks for the cave creek unified school district school would resume one week from the monday following the thursday update to the metrics in order to prepare for in-person learning if the metrics are not green green green by the end of the first quarter i would want the board to place a reopening date item on the october 12th governing board meeting do you have a do you have a motion promo second discussion can i ask a question

226before um uh discussion begins um dr burdick based on some of the emails that we've heard tonight particularly from staff and based on what's occurred in other districts do does the district office have any knowledge as to whether or not teachers may resign based on tonight's vote have you heard anything so president hill and member hatcher governing board members i asked because of anticipation that this may be a question um that the principals today touch each of their teachers in some way whether a survey monkey survey or calls or emails anonymously so that or only to the principals so the teachers would feel like it would be in confidence with the principal to say whether or not they would return if we return on september 8th or not as well as if not what date

227or dates would they deem acceptable and just trying to get some information and so 62 percent of our teachers said they would return 38 of our teachers said they would not those that said they would not the uh largest groups to um of what they were hoping for um 33 of those were looking for the metrics to be met and eight percent of them were looking at some date in october and the next highest was two percent that wanted to use the cdc guidelines okay thank you and that was with 87 percent of our teachers certified teachers responding i know i guess my question is i know we had um it has been discussed cleaning protocols mentioned and outlined in july have there been any additions subtractions made to the cleaning protocols that have been

228discussed yes um because we know that there have been some questions over the materials being used or teachers having time to do some of the cleaning protocols we actually decided today to maybe move in a different direction with a significant cost but it would certainly guarantee that the protocols were followed so i know we have mr santina and mr leedy on the line are on the call and so um mr leedy what would be your preference for responding to that new new look and new um ideas for cleaning okay thank you dr burdick president hill members of the board we did check we had a meeting with abm custodial services today and they do have a program that we that well let me let me back up just a second we were looking at the

229protocols and trying to figure out logistically how we could get the services cleaned adequately for uh students that were changing classes and so we had a discussion with abm abm has got a program that's uh it's called um let's see help me mike what's the what's the name of the program i can't remember what they were talking about now but um anyway uh it's it's a new program that they've got that they bring in additional staff and there will be staff at each site each day that will uh take care of the touch points they'll bring in hand sanitation uh sanitizing stations they'll provide wipes and uh that we can wipe down the surfaces with because what we were running into with the waxy product was the dwell time on the surfaces and it was

230taking uh it could take up to 10 minutes which was problematic for the class time passing and so we would we ordered wipes and then we'll have those on site uh for when school does start but then we would have abm come in and assist with the electrostatic cleaning at night and also cleaning all touch points services restrooms common areas uh during the during the daytime and the idea was that we were going to apply for the funding for that from the dima funding so does that does that eliminate um the the teacher cleaning desks between the the each change in class yeah does that eliminate the spraying of the desks and the teacher physically cleaning every single desk where in which a student sits however many times a new class comes in it doesn't

231does it that uh i i don't think so well for the elementary grades uh certainly they're not gonna have to do it uh because of the classes staying together all day they could do it at specials at lunch so they could spray as needed but they will sanitize at night so when after they leave the higher grades can use the wipes to wipe down their surfaces when they come back when they come into class because that only has a one minute uh dwell time to kill the virus so and so um member hatcher and governing board members the name of the abm program is called the enhanced cleaning program and it would not um it wouldn't take the place of desks being wiped down for secondary students who change every period but what it would

232do is allow the students to do the wiping with a wipe rather than the teacher having to spray and then use the spray which is not recommended for children under a certain age to use and so it takes responsibility of the student to use that wipe to clean the desk before they leave for the next class or the next student to wipe down that desk when they first come in and so part of this program the enhanced cleaning program allows us to have wipes as part of the program good good that's that is fantastic thank you any other questions i have a question i actu i have a question but i also want to make a comment um going back to the survey that dr burdick was referencing i'm a little the information is good

233but i'm a little concerned about how it was acquired because i know that teachers were sent an email that said board members are asking for a staff survey i didn't realize that we were asking for a staff survey so um member busby i had a board member ask if that was possible i was going to do that anyway i asked the board today or the principals today if they thought they could get it done by the end of the day and they were able to get me the information by five o'clock i thought it might be helpful for the governing board so if they principals misunderstood what i asked them i apologize okay um you know i we are definitely in a very unprecedented time and in the amount of time that i have spent

234on the board there has never been an issue that has um activated motivated or or received so many public comments as this one and one of the things that i would love to encourage is that the the passion that has been uh voiced and displayed over the last several weeks and months regarding when we're going back to school i really encourage parents to continue to stay actively involved because that involvement is essential to how we move forward and it takes everybody working together as a team to meet the goal it's not just our teachers it's just not the kid in the classroom it's everybody working together um with with that said um i know that there's not an absolute right answer to this because regardless of how the how the question is answered it's not

235going to make everybody happy and as i've thought about this many many times the one thing that i think this board failed to do was demand that the district actively be working on some kind of a hybrid model now i know dr burdick had said that the the back to school committee had looked at all kinds of options and some kind of a hybrid model just wasn't going to work for logistics or whatever various reasons but knowing that this is a very divided issue and people have very legitimate reasons for not wanting to go back into a classroom and and i respect that but then there are also people who have very legitimate reasons for wanting back in the classroom and not that we can be all things to all people but the board really

236i believe should have asked that there be some more investigation because if we have options that opens the door for more opportunities and right now the only opportunity we have is a zoom classroom or aoi and that's it it's all or none there is there is no plan on the table for any kind of phased in going back to school there wasn't a discussion of oh well if we're gonna open up school let's let's take the ap honors and id students and let them go into cactus shadows first to slowly work in we didn't do any of that and that's that that's that should have come from the board and so i apologize to the community we didn't do that and that was part of our job um with that said some of these comments

237were very very concerning we've had a number of teachers voice very valid concerns they're concerned about um not being able to social distance and you know their classroom is too small and they can't social distance i get that i've been in a lot of the classrooms but at the same time when i see photographs of teachers at social gatherings and barbecues and they're not social distancing they're standing shoulder to shoulder and they're not wearing face masks they're at the lake and they're not social distancing and then they come and submit comments and say that they're worried about uh getting infected because we can't social distance and i see actions that are contrary to those words that that's concerning to me and it makes me gets me very confused because i don't understand when i when

238i have i see teachers i see them out in public and yes you gotta go to the grocery store you gotta go here you gotta go there but when teachers are hanging out at the lake and they're going to barbecues and social distancing is not part of the equation and then they're coming and saying they don't want to go back into the classroom because of their concerns about health that seems like that's a contradiction and it makes it very difficult to to make a very valid and authentic decision here when i i see contradictions um president hill may i respond to the hybrid situation sure thank you thank you president hill and member busby and other governing board members our return to school team did examine hybrid and our principals and other education leaders in

239the district looked at viable options possible viable options for hybrid because it was what was suggested as part of the arizona department of education suggestions for what school would look like i wanted to just share some of the concerns that i have had about hybrid and why i wouldn't recommend it so number one uh the one that was deemed to be the most likely would have had eight to l students going to school on monday tuesday and then the m through z students going to school on wednesday thursday and the friday would be the day that the teachers were planning the asynchronous lessons for the students that were not in their active physical classrooms and so what that did is it gave to the students only two days out of five of actual instruction with

240a teacher the third day or the the actual other three days that they weren't face to face with the teacher at school would be back to the asynchronous learning style that we had last spring and i didn't feel that two days of instruction out of five with three days of asynchronous learning instead of synchronous learning or in-person learning would be advantageous to our students learning what they needed to learn in a week of school because we were almost cutting down a third of the learning time and by the end of the year or however long we would use this model our students would be very far behind so always trying to think of the students education and of course their safety is number one but i felt like this was an inferior education the second

241thing that was a concern for me and i checked with some of our education lobbyists and actually a state senator on this was last spring the 180-day requirement of actual student attendance with a teacher was forgiven because we were in asynchronous learning and the legislature suggested forgiving that and the governor signed it from what i've heard the legislature may not go back till january which would be half of our year and from what i heard there was no guarantee depending on elections that the legislature that would be in place would forgive the 180-day requirement that would mean we could lose significant funding so i was concerned about that it could happen but we don't know that for sure my third concern was although we have parents who have felt that there are teachers that aren't

242working enough from what i'm hearing from most of our principals are that teachers are working extra long hours beyond the school day trying to do office hours with students answer student questions answer parent questions take parent phone calls and many of the principals have said their teachers are working 12-hour days i could not see now adding to that for the teachers an additional component which would be planning for asynchronous learning and finally my last concern was that we are required if we do hybrid to continue on-site learning support we have 169 students right now at six of our school sites who are in on-site learning support a requirement in order for us to try to get some of the funding that is available as grants through the state and we are not allowed to turn

243anyone away and so if we had students a through l on monday tuesday the students who would be um not in school the m through z students are eligible now for on on-site learning on those two days and vice versa for the a through l and everybody would be eligible on friday so three days a week students would be eligible for on-site learning at one of our schools our concern with that is the people that are supervising the on-site learning right now are our bus drivers our paras some of our aides that aren't being used in the regular classroom support on zoom as well as some of our child nutrition staff some of our administrative assistants and if school would resume face to face for four days a week even though half the students would

244be there two days half the students on the other two days those folks would now be doing their regular jobs and we have no staff left i had somebody suggest to me uh another superintendent well put all of your your teaching coaches in there and i said well we don't have teaching coaches in our district and others have suggested other positions that we don't have in cave creek we're pretty lean and mean and right now we've been able to support on-site learning with staff but once we go back to if it would be hybrid we have the on-site learning requirements still but we no longer have the staff available to supervise it so those are the challenges that would be present with hybrid learning um dr burdick um thank you for your input you know

245when i mentioned or said that it would have been nice for the board to have an opportunity you know we are in a situation where nobody's nobody's going to get 100 of what they want because this is this is an unprecedented time and i would venture to guess that our community is well aware of there's give and take in a situation and i know that special ed is the only required group for transportation um things like transportation if a parent had to decide between sending their student to school um because of bus tran you know or if if they had to give up bus transportation but that meant that they could have their kid in school i i'm venturing to guess that there's probably a number of parents that would opt for that and our

246families are aware that we've got to do some things differently and that it's just unfortunate that there wasn't an open discussion a brainstorming that really involved you know asking the board what we thought bringing in community members you you created committees to brainstorm about all kinds of things and there wasn't any kind of true brainstorming i know you had your group within the district that that worked on this and i and i hats off to everybody because there was a lot of time involved in it and there was a lot of effort but you know there's and it's not a perfect situation so i'm not like slamming anybody i'm just saying that there's more that we could have done to help mitigate where we're at now um you know there was a survey that was

247done early on 80 percent of the respondents said they wanted their kid back their children back in school but once we got the report nothing really ever went anywhere as far as the board's concerned okay great we've got a report 80 percent of these students want to be back in the classroom and that was it your your group came and brought their their suggestions and that was the end of it so then what nothing happened you're giving your explanations of reasons why a hybrid wouldn't work and one of the things that stands out it keeps coming back to the money and it's unfortunate that it sounds like you know we're we're more concerned about what kind of money we're going to get than how we're going to educate these kids that i know they go

248hand in hand you can't educate them if you don't have the money but to to use that as an excuse is really unfortunate um and it's it it's just really unfortunate you know at this point we're sending kids to evit sports teams are practicing um yet we can't open up a classroom but it's okay for the baseball team to have practice and it's okay and it's safe and cape creek condones kids going to eat it i haven't heard anybody say oh gee we haven't opened our district so it's not safe for our kids to go to even how come it's safe for them to go to eve it but it's not safe for them to be on a cape creek campus um can i just respond to that um sorry member hatcher and member busby

249of course as the board knows from communications i've sent to you um eve it decided they're a separate school district that we're lucky to be a part of for certain students who are juniors and seniors and they decided to open on the 17th because they felt that students could not learn their own hands programs unless they were actually in attendance so that that is why and then our sports teams that have been practicing have been practicing with many mitigation efforts that have been sanctioned by the aia so it's not like everybody's full out practice although this week they did move to full full tryouts practice wearing masks and with um five ball rotations for volleyball football cannot have full practice unless it is a group of 50 and they're still having mitigation and the weight

250room can all be only be used of small groups of five or ten so there's still our mitigation efforts going on with sports and we're very happy that this optional program of sports is allowed for students whose parents choose that option it is not for every student um i want to a little bit about um the recommendation and uh the research that i did which will lead me to my vote whenever we do that when i took a dive into those numbers the case number is really very close to zero so for me when i was comparing from week to week um that number really didn't matter to me to be honest with you that that was yellow i in my research this weekend i have been in contact with four doctors and i wanted

251to make sure i was interpreting that correctly and one of them actually said that's about as close to nothing as you can get because i wanted to know if that was medically significant so i began drilling down into the next two numbers and the positivity all these numbers inform decisions and i realize that but percent positivity um to for me the flaw in that number is that we don't know how many people are tested so it's a percent positive out of the number of people tested we don't know how many people are tested and the framework in which those people are tested and by that i mean the zip code or the county uh so the number is important but yet um it was it was a little hard for me to wrap my head

252around it because of what i just said and then of course covid like illness is remained at three now for a while which is a maricopa county number um so i have a lot of stuff but i'm not going to go into all of it i am not in favor of pushing school opening into october um when i look at these numbers the statistics show that we're going down the trend is to go down and i pay attention to trends the trend is moving in the right direction and the numbers look good to me as i listened to all of the emails and read the emails things came to my mind that i had not thought of before i realized that uh families that don't want to go in and teachers that don't want to

253go in and staff that don't want to go in it's because of safety um however i think about the mental safety of the kids and while kovid could possibly uh harm someone could possibly kill someone so can depression um my daughter's good friend committed suicide a few years ago i had a student when i was a third grade teacher i found out my student in middle school tried to commit suicide as a middle school student so what i'm saying is that there's a chance that kovid could do that but there's also a chance the depression can do that with our kids so both have the risk of death and that's a huge concern to me um i am very much concerned about time kids spent on the computer i i was concerned about that when

254i taught that hasn't changed in my research about on the brain and technology we know that an overuse of technology rewires the brain we know that children and adults can become addicted to technology and the younger the person is the easier they can become addicted to technology uh they can become depressed from the overuse of technology and then we get back to what i'm saying before is that there's a possibility that could lead to suicide the middle school and high school are already vulnerable it's they're vulnerable it's a vulnerable age group so that's a huge concern to me and when i listen to this really listen to it read to me versus me reading it it really hit home that yes i acknowledge the teacher and um parent fear of the possibility of severe illness

255and death but i also acknowledge the fact that depression can lead to death via suicide so i i would not be able to support bumping school start date out into october um i'm sorry beth are you still going no i'm done i am well uh say something go ahead no i just i i want to say because i i think maybe in this time in the closing after you know i call for the vote and we do it i would rather have some stuff out now that's gonna make my opinion pretty obvious but i want it out now rather than dragging out what i'm going to say then um i actually um first i am listening we have had some comments made that we're not i've heard every email people have reached out to me

256i i've i've listened um i think the understanding has to be that um as member hatcher has said in member busby there is no win here i think i think we all know the win is that this never happened that uh we are not going to be able to we can't make every um we can't anticipate every event we didn't anticipate this i i never had this on my 2020 bingo as everyone keeps saying um excuse me we can't anticipate everything that happens on campus or off campus and so with that we've got to do our very best to provide a safe return to campus for our students and staff in listening we are we clearly have opinions in the community schools staff parents community members that are polar opposite from each other and so

257that means in listening regardless of how each of us votes we are not going to make someone else happy that doesn't mean we didn't listen it's just the honest truth we just we disagreed i believe i can only speak for myself i um i have told some friends i've been staying up to four on the internet looking at data i struggle with this every day i have done my due diligence and that's where i want to go real quick um data is very important i was the one that made a big deal about that i acknowledged that i asked for data i wanted some more district level metrics and we got them um data is only as good as what you do with it we have to look at numbers and and look at what

258they're saying um so i'm going to go over those real quick three metrics that i am looking at versus hospitalization which was back in the beginning the biggest concern statewide and in june and july it was very it was very dangerous i mean we can say i think that's the easiest metric to quantify because it was a real-time metric it was day over day i looked at the dashboard i follow some people on twitter that are doing hard looks every day just putting out data information not not giving any opinion just saying this is where we are i look at dashboards and what i have seen week to week we've had drops in cases and the hospitals are no longer at this point we're at april levels so i think regardless of where we fall

259on this we should all be very happy that the the high levels of hospitalization have dropped to to april levels the second thing you look at is the percent positive um remember hatcher touched on that a bit my issue is i look at that but then also as we know we don't know how many people we know um from what i could tell in the dashboard if it was more than 10 it counted if they were under 10 tested i don't know we that's percent positive tested that day we are right over five right under five we're under five the very first time so we're very close and that is it can be a little um there's some wiggle room on that my biggest issue that i cannot get past and i cannot support is

260the case load of 10 per 100 000. i looked at that that is 1 10 000 of the population of our district not our student population that is the population of the people that live in our district that is 61 000 people that means the maximum we could have by this metric to return would be over the case of a solid week no more than six probable or confirmed not even confirmed probable or confirmed cases would make that ten per hundred thousand which means we are talking the difference between six people and seven people and i look at that and i cannot get past that because it is a number that is so small it you know i don't want to be flippant but it could be that we have six there one five confirmed

261cases and two were probable that the doctor was being conservative and they weren't but that puts us into the we can't go back i cannot get past that number being so small that for us to be able to go back 10 per 100 000 is the difference between six and seven in a district of 61 000 people and so i think that pretty much makes my opinion very obvious but i want people to know that when i asked for data because i was the one that harped on it i absolutely wanted it i wanted more zip codes i wanted more county i wanted more than just the state data which at the time was all we had i feel we have that and i feel that i've spent a lot of time evaluating it and

262so knowing the way i'm going to vote and the way i think we should go it is not that i didn't look at data it's not that i don't consider data i understand that data is only good as what it's telling you and i'm grateful to the county for giving us data that helps us and isn't just maricopa county as a whole and the state as a whole and so that is my comment um so i may not say much when we vote um janet i have i have a question kind of um dovetailing to what beth was talking about with the social and emotional issues whenever we get back to school is there some sort of plan in place to help students that are there's because i'm assuming there's probably going to be more

263students that are going to need some sort of assistance you know based on issues with depression and anxiety and a myriad of other things do we have things in place or are we working on putting things in place to help these students remember busby absolutely in fact we have that now so our counselors have small groups they are meeting with students and that will only continue and grow as we return to school and then what about achievement gaps because there there was a big concern at the end of last school year um and the way that this this school year is starting out there the instruction is more robust but at the same time i mean there were a number of parents who expressed concerns about um a lack of instruction or the instruction was

264not as as good as it could be if it were in person and so there are bound to be achievement gaps so are are there things in place or what things are in place to help our students get up to where they're supposed to be so member busby just as we always do when we have students with gaps the teachers work through our personalized learning programs that we have and we'll be assessing those students and then using our online learning programs as well as actual in-class lessons in small groups to make sure that those students can are continually brought up to speed in addition we will be giving our benchmarks like and that's a requirement but we always give benchmarks in the fall so those will also show us the gaps that the students have

265so that we can actually use that data to help drive the instruction for those students thank you any other questions comments keep in mind i am going to if you want to make a comment as you vote we're going to do that again do we have any questions or comments at this time okay i'm going to call the vote all right let me explain some things because of the nature of this vote and also because of the nature of what an eye or a name means let me go into some detail for those of us on the board and also for those watching because i know we have a lot of people watching i don't want there to be any ambiguity ambiguity on what we're voting on um also keep in mind that as you

266vote um if you want to take one or two minutes um just to explain your vote you're more than welcome to you don't have to um you can so the as the motion is on the is presented that it would be the recommendation to take the action to reserve to return at green green green after two weeks or two weeks of green green green returning the following thursday i'm sorry let me go back green green green for two weeks and then school would resume a week from the the monday following the thursday update that is the motion on the floor if you are voting i that means you are approving the changing of that metric to adopting the motion presented if you vote nay you're not accepting you're voting no and that also means that

267we would then be with the previous determination which is a september 8th return so an i vote is to move to the new proposal that is on the floor as recommended and a vote you when you say nay you are saying september 8th so with that in mind i'm going to change it up okay on this on the uh recommendations it also says um to place a reopening date of october 12th so yeah so i'm sorry i should have it yeah it's the green green green and if it's not met by the end of the first quarter come back and reevaluate in october you're right and then a neigh vote is to go with the previous determination which is september 8th so with that i don't usually do this but i'm going to because i

268feel that if i'm going to be the president of this board i need to make the first vote my name happens to follow in kind of the midpoint i haven't had to do this and i am um i'm showing the courage of my convictions and the vote i am now taking and again like i did in july the vote i'm about to make is going to make a lot of people unhappy i don't know if it's gonna make anyone truly happy they're gonna be a lot of people unhappy with what i do and there are people i know but i'm saying this i will defend my vote in july i'm gonna defend my vote today since july the state has dramatically dropped in cases in hospitalizations we are close on our metrics we are meeting

269them the two metrics my biggest metric was always hospitalizations that was my big concern that was the easiest one to quantify quantify and that has been met the percent positive is right there [Music] the 10 per 100 000 is something i can't i can't accept and that's my choice i i see that is almost um statistically impossible it is a near eradication and according to dr fauci that will not happen sadly i wish it would even with the vaccine he has stated this will not be eradicated so with that in mind and knowing that we have concerns about safety for our teachers and our students and our staff we also have concerns for the educational well-being and mental well-being of our students my vote is nay to not approve the recommendation that is on the

270floor member brown thank you i would just like to make the comment to all the parents and staff and community members that sent emails in i i know i can speak for all the board members and administration we read every one of those um i was also very impressed with the number that was sent in that's outstanding to have that kind of feedback from our community and i did personally read every one of those uh a lot of good points were brought up and it really got me to look at some of the data a little differently and it was all good communication and i appreciate that from the community with that being said i will vote no to the motion remember busby um i just i appreciate everybody's input and it's important and as

271i said before you know you heard we've heard your comments and please keep providing your comments and your input it is so vital to the to the health and strength of this district and with that said i am voting i'm sorry could you i i no sorry it got muffled that's all right remember hatcher um i i wrote out a statement but i'm not going to read it um but i do want to say some things prior to my vote um anybody who knows me knows that i think independently they also know that i do my homework so my vote came with hours of research speaking to some doctors reading articles uh reading all the emails as member brown said it doesn't come lightly for me and for any of us i know that um

272it's it's a difficult decision because we are balancing um in a sense the academics against the fear of being sick with covid and taking it home and i think all of us understand those fears but we've heard the the other side tonight and i really loved hearing from the students so based on my conclusion my conclusion based on the study of the metrics the survey results which i cannot ignore as member busby uh mentioned the majority of the parents wanted face to face given what we learned about the teacher's desire tonight uh remember what the number was okay 62 percent would return there's a majority i can't ignore that so having said all that i vote nay okay remember rich thank you madam president um i agree with the assessment on the numbers that yourself

273remember hatcher had mentioned um i do think think uh i also think we made the right decision to delay until september 8th i think it put us in a better position and uh i also vote nay okay so the motion fails zero to five um sorry scrolling up can i just say one more thing though we gotta be careful because we voted um we have no old business do i have a motion for adjournment so moved all seconds second no i beat ya i get to second that one um we have a motion a second to adjourn remember rich hi i'm an eye remember hatcher i remember busby hi remember brown hi okay and before i click off when everyone's free to click off i want to thank everyone that stayed with us for nearly

274four hours thank you for listening and our meeting is adjourned thank you everyone for your input thank you