Danville schools’ superintendent Dr. Alicia Geddis is urging parents to fill out a return-to-school survey in order for the district to plan the possibility of the district’s buildings reopening for in-person learning.
Geddis told school board members Wednesday night that only 400 surveys have been filled out, when there are 6,000 students enrolled in the district, or a response rate of about six percent. She says this is the reason why the district cannot give a specific date when students could return to the classroom.
“It is difficult for us to prepare for ‘Johnny’ to come back to school in grade three, when we don’t know who ‘Johnny’ is,” she said. “We need you to complete the survey, and we need you to tell us your student’s name so we can make the accommodations.”
Geddis explained that under rules from the Illinois Department of Public Health, a maximum of only 14 students will be allowed in a classroom at a time. Further accounting for social distancing in hallways would take the number of students allowed down to about a third of the usual size. She also says that First Student has had to import bus drivers from Decatur, and those individuals have had to stay in local hotel rooms.
Board member Darlene Halloran noted that District 118 is held back by what the state’s guidelines are, and that Geddis is trying to get the state to change some of its rules.
Another board member, Dr. Randal Ashton, said he would be in favor of “going rogue” against the state in the fall if school guidelines do not change by then. But Geddis says that District 118 relies on $28 million each year in state funding, and it cannot operate without that, while other districts do not have same reliance on state money.
Board President Bill Dobbles encouraged parents to contact local state lawmakers with their frustrations about the school rules.
