School will begin Aug. 31 in Geary USD 475.
That is the starting point for the upcoming school year approved by the Board of Education Tuesday evening as they authorized an amended calendar for the district. The original starting date had been Aug. 17 but that was moved back due to COVID-19. Teachers will begin on Aug. 20. The school year will end on June 10, 2021.
The delay will allow more time to prepare facilities and help teachers prepare the upcoming school year. Dr. Reginald Eggleston noted that now procedures need to occur in each of the 18 school buildings."The 20th and 21st of August will give principals the opportunity to discuss their reopening plan with their teachers, to make tweaks and adjustments to it, to review the COVID-19 training videos that we have as well as to declutter their classrooms and make space for the social distancing that we desire to have to the best of our ability."
Eggleston explained there were conversations with the JCEA about the June 10th date, with most people feeling comfortable with it. "We realize that trying to jam in extra ( educational ) hours that may not be beneficial, and we definitely want to defintely capitalize on all of our learning opportunities throughout the course of the day.."
The Board vote for the amended school year calendar was 6-1 with Dave Walker voting no. "If we're starting later and going later why can't we cut some of the vacation days out so we don't have to go clear into the tenth of June because I have a concern about being able to move into the new school building in two months. " Walker added that doesn't seem like a long time, and if school begins later some vacation days should be eliminated so the year could be shortened to end around June 1.
The new high school is scheduled to open in Aug. of 2021. Eggleston said officials were sensitive to the point made by Walker, and they will work toward seeing how they can help the high school make preparations for the transition.