Coronavirus: Lethbridge school boards prepare for students’ return to classes

The Alberta government is committing to sending students back into near-normal classrooms this fall with guidance from Alberta Health Services.

Individual school boards are largely being tasked with deciding how exactly to fund and implement PPE and other protections for staff and students.

Government officials confirmed on Tuesday that operational funding will be distributed to schools, but school officials say this is not new information.

“That has already been really accounted for,” Supt. Ken Sampson with the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division said on Wednesday, “in a slight increase in operational dollars to the division.”

Lethbridge public superintendent Cheryl Gilmore said that the public division has already spent around half-a-million dollars of operational funds on PPE and COVID-19 preparations, tapping out their reserves almost entirely.

“We would be looking at trying to find some other avenues of funding and would welcome the government assuming some responsibility for that,” Gilmore said Wednesday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: <span style="font-weight:400;">"We would be looking at trying to find some other avenues of funding and would welcome the government assuming some responsibility for that," Gilmore said Wednesday.</span>

Holy Spirit Catholic School Division was quoted at an estimated $85,000 for PPE supplies alone so far.

Both school districts said they will be conducting further parent surveys to gauge what September could look like.

Detailed plans are available on their websites, outlining class cohorts, distancing and sanitizing procedures as well as parent drop-off rules.

“There’ll be lots of last-minute planning to be able to get class lists together, and know where our children are going and who will be educated from home,” Sampson said.

Comments from parents on the Global Lethbridge Facebook page express mixed views, with many comments raising concerns about the safety of students and the lack of COVID-19-specific funding.

For the time being, officials say many of the necessary COVID-19 preparations are already in place, such as separate entry and exit doors and masks for close-contact staff. Officials added that they are preparing to adapt when necessary.

“It’s an undertaking,” Sampson admitted. “It’s a massive undertaking, but at the same time, we have to do what we have to do.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: <span style="font-weight:400;">"It's an undertaking," Sampson admitted. "It's a massive undertaking, but at the same time, we have to do what we have to do."</span>