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Pine Richland School District releases its updated reopening plan

Pine Richland School District laid out its proposed reopening plan in a 24-page document.

They anticipate the first day of school to be August 26th, about three weeks from now.

But many parents still have a lot of questions going into this school year.

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Lauren Pataky chose in-person learning for her daughter who will be a junior. But she thinks disinfecting classrooms between class periods will be a challenge.

“I think the high school is the most difficult environment because of the fact that if the kids can’t stay in the same classroom every day all day like the elementary kids,” said Pataky.

But the school says custodians will disinfect high-touch areas daily, and staff will be given spray bottles to disinfect desks when classrooms are empty for more than 10 minutes.

They don’t specify whether that will be done in between every class.

Other parents, like Kristen Rice, went with the hybrid option.

“I have one child that he does best in person hands-on, and my oldest I could see her having no problems at home 100 percent of the time, so we are going to try the hybrid option for the first five weeks,” Rice said.

However, for her three-year-old going into preschool, she says the district’s mask requirement will be very tough.

“I hope they are successful but I could see some issues with it,” Rice said.

The school said students will be given breaks throughout the day to take off their masks.

Across the district, no more than eight to 10 kids will be in a classroom at once to ensure social distancing.

But still, some parents like Diya Gaur decided to opt for virtual learning, which has its own set of challenges.

For example, kids are missing out on social interaction.

“That’s so important for children and she’s not going to get that being at home that’s the one big challenge for her,” Gaur said.

Pine Richland is sending a survey to families this week to get feedback on the proposed plan.

The parents tell Channel 11 none of them are 100% confident with the option they chose, but are doing what they feel is best for their kids.

Pine Richland’s plan is available through the end of September. After that, the district will re-evaluate the situation.

Click here to read the district’s entire plan.