Sussex-Wantage announces reopening plan

Sussex-Wantage Regional School District Superintendent Michael Gall on Aug. 19 laid out some of what parents and students can expect when the school opens for the 2021-22 school year, including mask wearing and the lack of a remote option.

Gall said the district will open on Sept. 7 with a fully in-person school schedule. There will be no cohorts, no hybrid, and no parental choice for remote learning. He said the district will socially distance students to the greatest extent possible.

Gov. Phil Murphy recently released Executive Order 251, which mandates face coverings in the state’s schools. Busses will be filled at capacity and masks will be required there as well.

Students will no longer receive temperature screenings at school.

“We will shift that responsibility to parents,” Gall said.

The nurse’s office will be equipped for isolation areas for students suspected of having COVID-19. Gall also said the district will be very conservative with the number of visitors it allows in the schools early in the term.

“We’re trying to kick off the traditional school year as much as possible,” Gall said.

Sussex County is still in a yellow zone for the Week ending Aug. 14, signifying a moderate risk of COVID-19 spread, but the eastern sliver of the state has turned Orange, representing a high risk of spread.

Gall said Sussex County was 55 percent vaccinated it is expected that the county is moving toward an Orange designation.

About 55 percent of Sussex County is vaccinated and 8 percent of the county’s cases are 18 years old and younger.

The Board of Education passed a resolution later in the meeting asking Murphy to retract Executive Order 251 and leave the decision regarding masks under local control.

Board of Education President Nicholas D’Agostino said the resolution wasn’t for or against masks.

“This is not a political statement,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the government’s job to keep us safe. It’s our job.”

Board of Education Vice President Coleen Ranzan and school board member Georgeanna Stoll voted against the resolution.

Ranzan, a teacher in the Vernon Township School District, said she couldn’t vote for the resolution with a clear conscience.

“I don’t want to wear a mask,” Ranzan said. “I’m an educator and I don’t want to go backwards, but if that means I’m going to have my kids in front of me all day, every day, all of my students, I’ll wear four masks.”

Sussex-Wantage Education Association President Lisa Fahrenfeld pointed out that children younger than 12 can’t be vaccinated and that makes up almost all the students in the K-8 school district.

“It’s not a political issue; it’s a medical issue,” she said. “Is your staff at all important to you. If your staff gets sick, who will be here to teach your students.”

Gall said there will be a new round of guidance coming from the governor’s office. New rules have been presented to Murphy and he has not yet issued them to school districts.

“Those will be coming out before school starts,” Gall said.