Both students and staff members will have to take a COVID-19 test before being allowed to return to school after winter vacation, following action by the Glencoe District 35 school board.
The school board authorized a plan recommended by the administration Dec. 3 under which children and district personnel will have to take a PCR coronavirus test ahead of the scheduled Jan. 19 return to a hybrid format.
District 35 started the school year operating in a hybrid format, where children entered school for a portion of the day. Late last month, district officials shifted to an all-remote plan slated to run through Jan. 19 given the local surge in coronavirus cases.
Yet before staff and students return to some in-person learning, district officials want both staff and students to test negative for COVID-19. District 35 will provide a specific COVID-19 test at no cost to families that officials believe will be effective.
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“This is the gold standard PCR test,” Superintendent Catherine Wang said.
To start the testing process, a registration link will be sent to the homes of families by Dec. 10 needing to be completed by Dec. 16.
Then, families must pick up the testing kit and accompanying materials from the district on Jan. 7 or 8 and return the material on Jan. 11 and 12. Wang said there would be a car line outside Central School on those days from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with specific times to arrive based on last names.
Wang said the district is preparing for 1,000 kits to be returned with the results expected to be emailed to families between Jan. 15-18. Wang estimates the cost to the district could be as high as $130,000.
The district will accept the results of another type of PCR testing if the family prefers, but it has to be taken in Illinois between Jan. 10-14.
District 35 documents state that if a student has possible exposure to COVID-19 or shows signs of symptoms, a testing will be covered by the student’s health insurance and the district would cover the $10 laboratory fee.
Remote learning is set to begin Monday, Jan. 4, and district officials are families who might travel over winter vacation are asked to come back to Glencoe and quarantine for two weeks before the scheduled resumption of the hybrid format.
“We believe our community supports the continuation of the in-person model and the steps we are taking adds one more layer to lower the risk as staff and students return,” she wrote in an email. “We are hopeful that our parents will be respectful of the process and communicate openly with us should their family plans require a shift in timing for their child’s return.”
In separate action, the board unanimously approved a request for a 5.59% increase in the school district portion’s of the 2020 property tax levy. However, under the complex Cook County property tax rules, the school district only expects to receive a 2.3% increase on existing property.
District 35 Director of Finance and Operations Jason Edelheit said the amount of new growth in the village is not known at the moment, but the county regulations require the size of the levy request.
“If you do not levy enough to capture all that new growth, those funds are gone forever,” he said.
Edelheit estimated under the anticipated increase, there would be a $109 increase for a $15,000 tax bill.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.