Horry Schools beginning to add plexiglass to desks, but no date set for full return
Installation of plexiglass barriers on students’ desks are set to begin this week within Horry County Schools, but the district remains noncommittal about when it will allow students to return to in-person learning full time.
Daryl Brown, HCS chief officer of support services, told the school board Monday construction will begin Friday on desks in elementary schools, and that work is expected to be completed by Dec. 23, before moving on to desks for middle and high schools.
The total cost of plexiglass for the district was $5.2 million, Brown said, though that purchase was fully funded by the S.C. Department of Education and federal CARES Act funding.
The district first started exploring the plexiglass purchase after receiving guidance from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Controls that students could be within 3 feet of each other — which would be necessary to fit more students into classrooms — without being considered close contact for COVID-19 spread if appropriate plexiglass is used.
But when board members asked about a timeline for returning students to in-person learning five days per week, Superintendent Rick Maxey said the district couldn’t commit to a specific date until the installation process is complete. The district is currently operating under a hybrid schedule, with students attending in-person classes two days per week.
Still, board chairman Ken Richardson assured the rest of the board that a return to full-week, in-person classes is the ultimate goal of plexiglass installation.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out we’re not spending $5 million to leave the children sitting at home,” he said.
The board previously voted to approve changes to its reopening plan that permit the district to continue operating under a hybrid schedule indefinitely, until it’s safe to return to full, face-to-face instruction five days per week.
Those approved changes also gave district staff the authority to alter its operational status without board approval, and Richardson reiterated Monday that Maxey and his staff will decide when students return full-time, though parents need to be notified of that change at least five days in advance.
Also during Monday’s meeting, Maxey described the district’s plan to allow students to transfer second semester from the virtual program to brick and mortar or vice versa.
Parents and guardians will be notified of this option via email Dec. 1, according to Maxey, who emphasized that parents need to make sure they have an active email address on file with their school through PowerSchools, or they won’t get that notice.
A link will be available Dec. 7-14 for virtual students to transfer to brick and mortar, and Dec. 15-22 for brick-and-mortar students to transfer to virtual.
Maxey emphasized that the decisions parents make during those transfer windows are commitments, and Richardson noted that parents choosing the brick-and-mortar option for their children need to understand the operational schedule could change — between all remote, hybrid and full, in-person classes — at any time.
The district’s COVID-19 case dashboard shows 213 cases have been confirmed among students and staff since it began tracking them in early September, while 36 students and 16 staff members are listed as current cases, meaning they tested positive and remain away from school. It also identifies 84 staff members currently in quarantine.
