St. Joseph Superintendent Glad To Have Classes Back In Session

20210913_175756
20210913_175756

The start of the new school year at St. Joseph Public Schools has gone mostly well, according to Superintendent Jenny Fee. Speaking at Monday’s board of education meeting, Fee said there have been nine positive cases of COVID-19, two with staff. She’s told WSJM News she’s pleased some safety measures have reduced their effects.

“We’ve been able to limit that, and the vaccinations of staff have significantly helped with staffing,” Fee said. “I mentioned that we had eight close contacts of staff. Had those teachers had to be quarantined, that would have been a loss of significant instruction in that time.”

Fee said hiring more substitutes would have cost thousands of dollars. Monday’s meeting did bring out several parents opposed to a mask rule, and a few for it. Some of the opposed said masks don’t work, while others said they make learning difficult. Fee told us most of what she hears from parents is positive.

“At the public comment sessions, it definitely favors those who wish to have freedom of mask choice, but what I get in communication face to face and what I get in communication via email correspondence, it’s overwhelmingly in support of the mask mandate that the health department has put in place.”

Fee said the district administrators prepared well for the new year, and apart from the masks, “it feels as normal as it can be for school.” She gave some enrollment numbers based on the informal early count, and the district had 2,976 students, compared to 3,022 in 2019. Those are not final numbers. The formal count will be in October.