Misunderstanding May Have Lead School District to Start Remotely

Did a misunderstanding lead to Grand Blanc School District to pull the plug on in-person instruction to start the school year? According to reports by Mid-Michigan Now that may be exactly what happened.

The Grand Blanc School Board voted unanimously back on August 12th to begin he school year for the district remotely as well as push back the start date to September 8th. A big part of the decision, according the the news outlet, were new mandates from the Genesee County Health Department that required schools to quarantine entire classes if one person tests positive for Covid-19 or has a suspected case.

The district had a created a return plan around the concept of quarantining only those who were within six feet for 15 minutes or more with the infected person. These new mandates changed the process and added concerns."It appears, based on the information that we've received, it's going to be very disruptive. Meaning you could have an individual with symptoms or you could have a confirmed case, which means we would have to close our classrooms here in Grand Blanc," said Clarence Garner, Superintendent, Grand Blanc Community Schools at the time of the school board meeting.

It became apparent, and was actually questioned at the Grand Blanc School Board meeting that Genesee County seemed to have different protocol and mandates than other counties throughout the state. That, it seems, may in fact be where the misunderstanding lies.

Mid-Michigan Now is reporting that John McKellar, a Genesee County Health Officer states,"The quarantine would apply to any student that was within six feet of the teacher for 15 minutes". He also notes that this is something that not only Grand Blanc may have misunderstood, but also other districts within the area.

There is no word yet as to if the new clarification will lead to changes in the current plan for remote learning for the district.