Perry Community School District Superintendent Clark Wicks announced Saturday that 35 persons tested positive for COVID-19 between Jan. 22-28 in the school district.
- Perry Elementary School — 6 students, 2 staff members
- Perry Middle School — 6 student, 3 staff member
- Perry High School — 17 students, 1 staff member
The Perry School Board revised the district’s Return to Learn Plan Jan. 26 in order to provide current guidance for staff and students in regard to COVID-19.
The current population of students and staff in the Perry Community School District numbers about 1,800. Some 60 students and 20 staff members tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the 2020-2021 school year in Perry.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected 274 students and staff members since classes began Aug. 23, according to communications from the PCSD. A total of 81 Perry students and staff tested positive for the virus during the last school year. The list of this year’s cases follows:
8/23-30 PES 1
8/31-9/3 PES 2, PHS 1
9/4-10 PES 1, PMS 2, PHS 3
9/11-9/17 PMS 3, PHS 2
9/18-9/24 PES 1, PMS 3, PES staff 2, PHS staff 2
9/25-10/1 PES 4, PHS 3
10/2-10/8 PES 3, PES staff 2, PMS 2, PHS 2, PHS staff 1
10/9-10/15 PES 3, PES staff 1, PMS 1, PHS 2
10/16-10/22 PMS 2, PHS 3, PHS staff 1
10/23-10/29 PES staff 1, PMS 1, staff 1, PHS 1
10/30-11/5 PES staff 1, PMS staff 2, PHS 2, PHS staff 2
11/6-11/12 PMS 1
11/13-11/19 PES 1, PHS 1
11/20-12/3 PES 2, PMS 1, PHS 2
12/4-12/10 PES 1, PMS 1, PHS 1, PHS staff 1
12/11-12/17 PES staff 2, PMS 5, PHS 2
1/3-1/7 PES 3, PES staff 3, PMS 1, PMS staff 1, PHS 8, PHS staff 3
1/8-1/14 PES 21, PES staff 6, PMS 14, PMS staff 2, PHS 16, PHS staff 7
1/15-1/21 PES 20, PES staff 8, PMS 12, PMS staff 5, PHS 16, PHS staff 8
1/22-1/28 PES 6, PES staff 2, PMS 6, PMS staff 3, PHS 17, PHS staff 1
I can’t understand this. Does the school board have a quota for students attending per day that they have to meet in order to receive some amount of funding? Is this about money? Why is protecting the health of students and staff placed lower on its list of priorities? I can’t attend the board meetings, but would appreciate some clarification here.
A short while back, the school board, following guidance from Gov. Reynolds and the Dallas County Health Department, set a policy that masks were optional and unnecessary, implying that they did not function as protection from the virus.
Now, when a student tests positive, there should be 5 days of quarantine, then masked at school for an additional 5 days, implying that masks do indeed work to prevent the spread of COVID. What has changed? This policy also has the effect that any student wearing a mask at school is marked as diseased. How many students will comply with the guidance? How many will remove their masks as soon as they enter the building?
Meanwhile, as this dance continues, positive cases in the school system are again growing exponentially and if the school is any measure, this may soon be reflected in our community at large.
Perhaps it is just fatigue, but it feels to me like putting Perry’s health at a lower priority is an echo of bending the knee to the previous administration and its penchant for ignoring reality for political gain. No other explanation makes sense.