July 27, 2020 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Special Meeting

Rationale:  Information concerning the Open Meeting Law, Chapter 84, Article 14 of Nebraska State Statutes, is posted in the meeting room and at a location accessible to members of the public. 

Mrs. Kari Loseke, Board President, will call the Board of Education Regular meeting to order.

Rationale:  The Board Secretary will conduct roll call attendance.

Rationale:  Dr. Gilson will lead the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Rationale:  Mrs. Vicki Griffin, Blair High School Counselor, has worked with ACT to provide students the opportunity to add ACT test dates in Blair.  The dates are September 12, 13 (Sunday), and 19,  and October 10, 17, 24 & 25 (Sunday).  We can socially distance the students, require masks and offer hand sanitizer to ensure the safety of all students. This is at no cost to the District and a great opportunity for the students of Blair.  If enough students do not sign-up in Blair, ACT will cancel the date and send the students who did sign-up to another site.  

Since September 13th and October 25th are Sundays, those dates would need Board approval.  

Rationale:  This is the portion of the meeting when members of the public may address the board about matters of public concern.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO SPEAK:

Rationale:  The Return to School Resolution is to provide as much flexibility and delegation as possible to the administration to plan and respond to the fluid situation without needing a formal Board meeting to approve various items/changes.  The wording in the resolution mirrors language from the "discretionary" function exemption of the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act.

Rationale:  On July 2, Dr. Gilson, asked for volunteers from staff, parents, and the community to participate on a Reopening Planning Team (RPT) who will continue to gather input and consider research to develop a plan that will address reopening scenarios and contingencies to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of all students and staff and a reopening infrastructure aligned with changing scenarios. Dr. Gilson divided that team into smaller Ad Hoc Committees to more deeply discuss topics related to around the reopening of school.  Four Ad Hoc Committee Chairs and/or a representative will present their findings and recommendations to the school board.  The topics they will address include 1) Facilities, Transportation and Extracurricular Activities; 2) Health and Food Services; 3) Academic Learning and School Operations; 4) Student and Staff Wellness.  

Blair Community Schools has partnered Dr. Jeff Gold, Chancellor of UNMC, who is a world renowned expert on infectious disease and John Spatz, Executive Director of the Nebraska School Boards Association to bring a team of Infectious disease and public health experts at the UNMC Global Center for Health Security and College of Public Health who have developed a set of guidelines for school districts that include strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while the facilities continue to operate.  Dr. Gold oversees one of the few and largest Biocontainment Units in the United States.

Blair Community Schools was the team’s first school visit.  The team members have toured and worked with meat packing plants, nursing homes, and most recently the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, and the Big Ten Conference to provide their expertise and research to mediate the COVD-19 risk during reopening and operations.  

On the same day of the visit, Thursday, July 23, experts at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine released recommended measures following an "exhaustive literature search to see what was out there in terms of best practices and industry-specific information," said Jocelyn Herstein, Ph.D., infectious disease expert for the Global Center for Health Security.  Dr. John Lowe, Dr. Herstein and a team of experts toured Arbor Park Intermediate School and met with Blair administrators, a team of teachers, school board members, and others to provide technical assistance as part of new guidelines, titled "COVID-19 Back to School Playbook:  Guiding Principles to Keep Students, Teachers, and Staff Safe in K-12 schools." 

The team walked the building and gave recommendations for students and staff to be safe in classrooms, hallways, lunch room areas, playgrounds, busses, commons areas, restrooms, during extra curricular activities, the music room, gym, library, offices, etc. to evaluate space, existing procedures, and provided recommendations that have become part of this plan.  Dr. Gilson, Mrs. Loseke, Mr. Schoby, and Mr. Callaghan will share their thoughts about UNMC's recommendations.  

Here are the team members who are supporting Blair Community Schools Reopening Plan.

Dr. John Lowe, serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Security Training and Education, Director of Research for the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and National Quarantine Unit, Executive Director of Training for the Global Center for Health Security at the University Of Nebraska Medical Center.  Dr. Lowe specializes in infection prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases and special pathogens including COVID-19, Ebola, Lassa fever and Influenza. He has peer reviewed papers in molecular virology, industrial hygiene and environmental exposure assessment, focusing on environmental microbiology and disrupting transmission of infectious diseases.

Dr. Lowe leads COVID-19 initiatives investigating COVID-19 transmission dynamics, improving prevention in healthcare, long term care, meat packing and other industries. He currently serves as primary investigator for national training centers, international biosurveillence networks and has helped to determine national guidelines, policies, procedures, and best practices to treat patients with SARS Coronavirus 2, Ebola virus disease and other highly infectious diseases. Specific areas of focus include patient transportation, waste handling/disposal, patient discharge, patient remains, PPE donning and doffing, decontamination, etc. Dr. Lowe holds leadership roles in several organizations and centers, such as the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, the National Quarantine Unit, the National Ebola Training and Education Center, and the National Health Security Training Center. John is Co-PI of the Biosafety and Infectious Disease Training Initiative, a NIEHS funded consortium.  Dr. Lowe has funded projects associated with addressing and disrupting the spread of highly infectious diseases through laboratory capacity building and clinical trials in West Africa as well as research initiatives with Department of Defense to optimize high-level isolation systems.

Dr. Jocelyn Herstein, MPH serves as the Program Coordinator for the Global Center for Health Security and Co-Course Director for the National Disaster Medical System’s Isolation, Simulation and Quarantine Training at UNMC. Her areas of research include highly hazardous communicable diseases and infection control, with focus on U.S. national preparedness infrastructure, transportation of patients with highly hazardous communicable diseases, and training and education.

Jocelyn’s research includes exposure assessment and developing and validating protocols for occupational health and safety in a high-level isolation setting. Jocelyn has been involved in the planning and evaluation of multiple international and national highly hazardous communicable disease transport and biocontainment patient care exercises, coordinated and trained ground transport teams on highly hazardous communicable disease transport, and co-led an initiative with the Department of Defense to optimize high-level isolation systems. 

Michelle Schwedhelm, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND BIOPREPAREDNESS, NEBRASKA MEDICINE. Shelly Schwedhelm has served in leadership roles within Nebraska Medicine for 35 years. Her work experience has encompassed positions of increasing accountability and responsibility requiring exceptional strategic, communications, analytical, and team-building skills.  She also possesses a thorough knowledge of clinical skills, human resources, risk management, as well as the regulatory, financial and contracting skills so critical to the success of large clinics. Ms. Schwedhelm has experience in emergency and trauma services; perioperative services; infection prevention; emergency preparedness; clinical operations; and program-specific roles in quality and start-up and turnaround projects.

Ms. Schwedhelm had overall accountability for Biocontainment Unit operations and logistics during the Ebola virus disease outbreak of 2014-15.  She traveled on readiness site visits with the Centers for Disease Control in 2014 and 2015, and developed a two-day Ebola education training program held on the UNMC campus.  She currently oversees numerous grants associated with infectious disease and is a program director and subject matter expert with the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC).  In addition, Ms Schwedhelm has served as a subject matter expert in numerous site visits to regional Ebola treatment centers and to states to provide expertise and technical support.

Dr. Christopher Kratochvil from UNMC, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research Chief Medical Officer, UNeHealth; Dr. Kratochvil specializes in child-adolescent psychiatry. He is a Professor of psychiatry, with an adjunct appointment with the Department of Pediatrics and College of Public Health. Dr. Kratochvil has an interest in clinical trials for children and adolescents, with a focus on ADHD and depression. Much of his research focuses on medications, and, in 2011, he co-edited the book Pediatric Psychopharmacology: Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition. He has also authored or co-authored over 100 articles in medical journals.

Terra Uhing, Executive Director Three Rivers Health Department

Lindsey Cork, Assistant Director of Three Rivers Health Department

John Spatz, Executive Director of Nebraska Association of School Boards

Following the presentation, the school board will take action to support the Blair Community Schools Back to School Reopening Plan.  Here is a link to the plan.

Rationale: 

• The Board expects students to comply with such amendments, updates, revisions and any other directives from District administrators and staff.  The school board is asked to take action to approve the 2020-21 Handbooks, which will be in place along with the Blair Community Schools Back to School Reopening Plan.  The Provisions of the Return to School Resolution delegates the authority including delegation of Student Handbook Provisions to the Superintendent or Superintendent’s designee with consultation with other administrators and the Reopening Planning Team including Ad Hoc groups, public health officials and medical experts the authority to amend, update, or otherwise revise student handbooks for the 2020-2021 school year, so long as such amendments, updates, or revisions relate to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such amendments, updates, or revisions shall have the effect of rules and standards validly established pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-257, 79-259, 79-261, 79-262 and 79-264. Further, any such amendments, updates, or revisions (including a possible mask requirement) shall comply with Nebraska law, including Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-734 and 79-2,127, et seq.

  Digital Handbooks- Links

  • Preschool

  • Deerfield, North, South (K-2)

  • Arbor Park (3-5)

  • Otte Middle School (6-8)

  • High School (9-12)

  • Activities