Conroe ISD Superintendent Curtis Null provided an update on new safety measures and COVID-19 case data as the district works to avoid school closures during a virtual update on Sept. 2.
As of Sept. 2, CISD is currently at a safety alert level four. Safety alert five calls for campus closures due to staff shortages, according to Null.
“If we reached a situation where we did not have a number of employees that could safely operate a building, that would force us to close that building,” Null said during the update.
Null said that if the district were to close, 30,000-40,000 students who rely on free meals might not have the ability to access those services.
“We know that 67,000 children [will be] put back into the community and some will go unsupervised and be put in very unsafe situations,” Null said. “...a lot of families in our community, if they don’t go to work, they don’t get paid. And if they don’t get paid, that affects the entire family.”
The district is currently providing free meals for every student.
Under Senate Bill 15, CISD has the ability to provide virtual learning if a campus were to close. Prior to the passage of SB 15, the district stated that hours or days would be added to the school calendar in order to make up for lost hours.
SB 15 allows funding for Texas schools to implement a virtual school.
Null said this allows the district to prepare for a virtual school option for the 2022-23 school year.
“We know all the negatives associated with closing school,” Null said during the update. “That’s really a terrible scenario that we don’t want to get in.”
New district strategies
Null said CISD now has the authority to prevent students from coming to school when someone in the student’s household tests positive for COVID-19. Null said this policy will be in place as long as the district is in safety alert level four.
“I think it’s a change for the good,” Null said. “It’s a common sense change and it will help slow the spread of the virus in our classrooms.”
The district created an online self-reporting system for COVID-19 positive cases. When a student tests positive, a parent or guardian can inform the district on the CISD website. After the self-report, an email will be sent providing information about quarantine and school material. The program will be active as early as Sept. 3, according to Null.
Null said the district has doubled testing capacity for students and employees and the district may implement new air purification technologies in campuses. He also said the district has increased cleaning measures across all campuses.
“We would do everything we can to not to move to level five if it is at all possible,” Null said.
Addressing a mask mandate
Null said the district does not have the authority to issue a mask mandate because of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order regarding masks.
Some Texas school districts have reinstated mask mandates as various legal challenges move through the courts.
“He has ordered that school districts cannot mandate masks for students or employees,” Null said. “At Conroe ISD, we follow all of the laws. We don’t pick and choose the laws that we follow.”
Null said if the order were to be removed by the Texas Supreme Court, then it would be up to the CISD Board of Trustees to vote on a districtwide mask mandate.
Null encouraged the use of masks during the virtual update and said parents and guardians can communicate with teachers regarding their student’s mask use.
“I will tell you that I still strongly encourage you to wear masks,” Null said.
COVID-19 case data update
As of Sept. 2, there are 1,520 positive student cases and 184 positive employee cases. That's a total of about 1,700 active cases, or 2% of their estimated 77,000 students and employees, according to the COVD-19 dashboard.
Null said the numbers are on a downward trend compared to the week ending in Aug. 27.
“I’m not going to stand here tonight and proclaim that we’ve turned the page and we’re in a good place,” Null said. “We believe they have plateaued and they are starting to work their way down.”
