Tucker: Laconia is ready to plan school-opening test

LACONIA — Laconia public school officials have to put together a plan for the reopening of school even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate people’s consciousness — a situation that Superintendent Steve Tucker called a landmark moment in the history of public education.

Tucker told the Laconia School Board Tuesday the guidelines Gov. Chris Sununu released earlier in the day will provide a base as local educators work to come up with a plan to bring students safely back to classrooms which closed in mid-March when the COVID-19 virus was beginning to take hold in New Hampshire and other parts of the country.

“This is the most challenging time in the history of public education,” Tucker said of the task to find the proper way to resume traditional classroom learning in some form that includes precautions designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

He said the last time educators faced a challenge so daunting was when many districts had to integrate their schools in the years following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in 1954 outlawing racial segregation.

“The general desire is to bring students back to school,” Tucker said. “What this will look like remains to be seen.”

After the meeting, he added, “It won’t be 2,000 students coming back to school all at once. That’s not going to happen.”

Key among the guidelines announced by Sununu Tuesday is that students will not be required to wear masks when seated in the classroom, except in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained.

Also schools are being advised that students should be kept from 3 to 6 feet apart.

Public health officials said children should not be allowed to go to school if they show even the slightest sign of illness.

Tucker said working groups in the reopening task force began meeting this week. Their goal is to come up with concrete recommendations by the beginning of next month. Those will then be forwarded to an oversight group which will draw up a comprehensive reopening plan to present to the School Board.

Educators will be exploring a hybrid model — a mix of in-class and remote-learning instruction on different days for different groups or students. Tucker said they would also look into the possibility of live-streaming classes from various schools, which some students could then watch from home.

Transportation remains a significant challenge, Tucker pointed out. He said calculations of how many students can social-distance on a bus range from 11 to 26 — 15 percent to 36 percent of a bus’s rated capacity of 72 students.

In light of the work associated with the school reopening plan, along with other responsibilities, the School Board approved Tucker’s request that the district hire School Board member Bob Champlin to serve as Tucker’s special assistant.

Champlin worked for 31 years in the Laconia school system, 13 as superintendent. He resigned from that post in 2013. He was elected to the School Board in 2018. He resigned from the board effective Tuesday in accordance with the School District’s conflict-of-interest policy.

In addition to assisting Tucker with the school reopening effort, Champlin is also expected to assist in contract negotiations with the district’s unions, handle personnel issues, advise on legal matters and assist with community relations, among other responsibilities.

Champlin will be paid on a per diem basis at the rate of $430 a day, Tucker said.