PARIS — School Administrative District 17 officials are making plans for what student learning may look like for the remaining academic year, whether in school, online or a combination of both.
Superintendent Rick Colpitts outlined the process to the board of directors Monday evening.
What will not change are the priorities for in-person learning: students up to and including grade three, special education and English-learners, and those considered to be in at-risk categories.
The next tier for attending class daily are students who have not participated in online classes or individual sessions, not been able to complete assignments or meet academic progress expectations, or do not have reliable internet connections.
With the forced changes and parents making requests to change student attendance, the district is adding a process to submit and approve those requests. Decisions will be based on where the student is in prioritization, balanced with changes for remote or hybrid learning, and the capacity of the school to meet the Maine Department of Education’s six requirements for opening.
Colpitts also updated the board on current trends of COVID-19 infections. Oxford County continues to experience mild community spread of the virus, with most of the eight towns increasing in positive cases of one or two over the past couple of weeks.
There have been exposures of high school field hockey players and students at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and Otisfield Elementary School. Placing students in smaller pods has helped keep the number of those needing to quarantine in remote learning at a relatively low rate.
SAD 17 Finance Manager Cathy Coffey presented information on coronavirus-related relief funding. The district was approved for a total of $6.77 million.
There are several requirements for how the funds can be spent, including that projects must be unbudgeted, funds cannot be used to cover any gaps in curtailment, the needs must be urgent, they may not be reimbursed through any other funding sources, and they can only be implemented within Maine CDC guidelines.
Coffey said spending deadlines for CARES Act and COVID Relief Funds are Sept. 30, 2021, and Dec. 30, 2020, respectively. A particular challenge for all Maine school districts is orders for equipment and materials remaining unfilled beyond the deadlines.
To adequately comply with deadline variances, the SAD 17 finance department is building a dedicated accounting system to manage the process and documentation, and be prepared to provide reporting for annual audits.
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