Top educators in the Santa Clara Unified School District were quarantined after an attendee of a 45-person face-to-face meeting tested positive for coronavirus, school officials reported.
After principals and administrators met in late June to hammer out reopening plans for the fall, an educator was confirmed to have COVID-19, Superintendent Stella Kemp told the school board last week. Everyone at the meeting has since been quarantined, with no new cases linked to the exposure.
“I know there may be some that question every decision we make, but the reality is there’s no roadmap for this pandemic,” Kemp said. “Our county health officials, who we rely on for information and guidance, are also facing this reality.”
Everyone at the meeting checked themselves for symptoms before arriving, wore face masks and maintained six feet of distancing. The meeting location — indoors — has been cleaned and sanitized, Kemp said.
Still, school trustees voiced strong concerns over the potential exposure — and questioned why an in-person meeting was hosted at all. As Santa Clara County guidelines limit outdoor gatherings to 25 people, trustee Vickie Fairchild said she’s received “panicked” calls from educators given that around 45 people attended.
“I can’t imagine being a person at that meeting and being exposed,” Fairchild said. “I can’t imagine if you had health conditions … I want administrators to know I want them to be healthy.”
“If we’re having problems keeping our staff safe, that does not send a good message for our families,” trustee Jodi Muirhead added.
The meeting was first reported by NBC Bay Area. Spokesperson Jennifer Derrico said in a statement Thursday that the initial report was “completely inaccurate” but did not specify why or respond to multiple requests for an explanation.
Kemp defended the decision, noting that in-person discussions were necessary given the complexity of planning the reopening. Earlier this week, county health officials said in-person instruction is not guaranteed this fall — meaning that districts and schools should plan for various classroom scenarios, including fully remote and hybrid models.
“This is exactly the dilemma that every district is facing now,” Kemp said. “We are trying to figure out how to best keep our students and staff in an environment where the vast majority of things that are happening around us are out of our control.”
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