Horry Schools exploring plexiglass purchase to allow more students to return in-person
New guidance from state officials on the use of plexiglass in classrooms has Horry County Schools officials hopeful about more students being able to return to the classroom.
S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Controls posted a notice online Monday clarifying that students could be within three feet of each other without being considered close contact if appropriate plexiglass is used.
HCS Superintendent Rick Maxey, speaking during Monday evening’s board meeting, said this new guidance opens up the opportunity to bring back more students for more days, since the current 6 foot distance recommendations severely hinder the amount of students allowed in each classroom.
While emphasizing that the district is in the very early stages of coming up with a plan, and it will take some time, Maxey said staff has been instructed to “hit the ground running” and “pursue this aggressively.”
Daryl Brown, chief support services officer, estimated that the total cost of purchasing enough plexiglass for each student’s desk would be up to $4.5 million, which he noted was based on Charleston County School District, which is larger, spending $6 million on a similar project.
Brown said the district will attempt to work with the S.C. Department of Education to try to acquire the plexiglass because they typically get better prices purchasing in bulk through the department. He also noted the importance of ensuring the plexiglass meets DHEC guidelines.
Plexiglass is considered appropriately sized if it surrounds three sides of the student’s desk — the front and two sides — and extends at least a foot above each child’s head when seated, according to the notice.
Maxey said his instinct would be to prioritize acquiring the necessary materials for younger students first so that they can return to full, in-person learning five days per week, but he still has to discuss that with his executive team.
In conjunction with the discussion about plexiglass, Chief Financial Officer John Gardner told the board that the district has about $5 million remaining from the more than $14 million it received in federal CARES Act funds. Those funds have already been used to purchase personal electronic learning devices, virtual curriculum and bottle-filling stations.
Gardner clarified that the funding must be used by the end of 2022, but he suspects it will be spent by the end of June 2021.
Also during Monday’s board meeting, Maxey unveiled the district’s own COVID-19 case dashboard showing which schools have current or past cases. The state Department of Education has a similar dashboard, but it’s updated only twice per week, while Maxey said the local dashboard would be updated by 4 p.m. every weekday.
As of Monday, the dashboard showed 10 students and six staff members had tested positive within the past week.
