As a precaution to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Magnolia ISD announced March 16 it will suspend all activities until April 10.
Superintendent Todd Stephens said this was not a hard set date, as the district will re-evaluate plans April 6.
“We want to get kids back as soon as we can,” he said during a March 16 board of trustees meeting. “But it can also be longer.”
Stephens said there have been three task forces created to help deal with keeping students on track while school is out—one each for elementary, secondary and high school levels.
“We have to get something ready and started and get it out there,” he said. “We will work on the depth and quality of that as we move along.”
Stephens said the district will use all options available, including web-based or paper guides for instruction.
“We don’t know if we’re in a scenario that we have 100% of our houses [with] kids [who] are going to have a computer and internet access,” he said. “We’ll see if we can’t figure out the best options to suit and meet everybody’s needs.”
Stephens also added that events at the end of the academic year, such as graduation ceremonies, are not able to be confirmed yet.
All hourly employees will be guaranteed the same hours as they had before the district was closed, Stephens said. Employees that come in to work will be paid time and a half.
“I hope we can get back sooner rather than later,” Stephens said.
