PUHSD plans for limited return of high school seniors

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Note: Story has been updated to correct the amount of state funding PUHSD is expected to receive.

Anticipating today’s passage of a State Assembly bill that will provide funding to districts that return at least a portion of their students to classrooms, Perris Union High School District officials on Wednesday announced preparations to bring seniors back to campus – but perhaps only one day a week.

Candace Reines, deputy superintendent for business services, told board members during Wednesday’s meeting that PUHSD is expecting to receive about $3.5 million from the state for such a return. Lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 86 today and it is due to be signed by the governor on Friday. The bill states that in order to be eligible for the funding, districts must bring back students in at least one grade for a minimum of one day a week.

On Feb. 10, PUHSD trustees announced that students would remain in full-time distance learning for the remainder of the school year. The financial incentive from the state has changed that. The district’s revised plan must be submitted by April 1, Reines said.

PUHSD officials quickly determined that the senior class should be the class to return to campus, but one official said during Wednesday’s meeting that it would be difficult to safely return the seniors more than one day a week.

“We would be inviting every senior back who wants to come back,” said newly hired assistant superintendent of educational services Robert Brough. “But we must do it safely. Given the numbers and [classroom] spacing issues … as well as the cleanliness and hygiene issues, the safest return is probably one day a week.

“There may be an opportunity to do more, perhaps two days a week, but it will depend on how many students want to come back.”

Rather than returning on campus part-time, seniors will have the option of remaining in distance learning full-time. The number of returning students will in part determine how many days a week they can attend, officials said.

Reines told board members classrooms are now set up to accommodate 18-22 students with six-foot social distancing. Because of the limited class size, students might have to be spread out throughout different days of the week.

That is yet to be determined, depending on a poll of the seniors. In addition, Riverside County’s adjusted COVID-19 case rate must drop from its current 11.3 cases per 100,000 residents to less than 7.

The majority of board members said this would be one way to give seniors a way to better experience their final year of high school. Opportunities to experience traditional year-end events will be very limited, however.

Reines said that “there is no practical way” for senior proms to occur, and that crowd restrictions would make grad night celebrations difficult, although officials continue to explore options for that event.

And regarding graduation ceremonies … well, Reines said that at the minimum, graduates would be able to walk across a stage rather than hop out of a car, as they did in last year’s drive-through graduation ceremonies. Details of such a ceremony – including the number of attendees allowed – are yet to be determined.

“We hope to have a ceremony as close to traditional as possible,” Reines said. “At a minimum, students will be able to walk across a stage to accept their diploma. We will consider input in a parent and/or student survey. But we also have to look at this through a liability lens. We can seat people six feet apart, but what happens when the confetti goes off? How much will people congregate?”

Reines said one option to consider is allowing guests into the viewing area in small groups when their student’s name is announced. They would then leave the area and the next group would be allowed in. This is just one idea to be explored, she said.

“We need to give the class of 2021 an end-of-year feeling,” said Board President Jose Luis Araux. “Others will have the opportunity to experience that later. Even if it’s two or three days a week, we’d like to give them that opportunity.”

“We need to do something for these seniors,” added trustee David Nelissen. “They are the ones I have the most empathy for. This is the one year that’s supposed to be the most memorable, and all that has been taken away from them.”