School sees spike in COVID-19 cases

COVID-19 has once again reared its ugly head at the Carrington Public School.

“These last two days, there has been a pretty good spike,” Superintendent Kris Kuehn reported to the Carrington School Board during their January 11 regular meeting.

As of Tuesday, there were 12 students and five staff members out after testing positive for the coronavirus. Another 22 people were in quarantine due to close contact with a positive case.

Kuehn said the district is following the revised CDC guidelines for isolation and quarantine. Therefore, staff and students can return to school after five days of quarantine if their symptoms have improved, but wearing a well-fitting mask when around others, even at home, is recommended through day 10.

Elementary Principal Jenna Helseth announced that the Cardinal Way award went to Miss Nikki Braaten’s fourth grade class for their use of student planners.

Helseth also reported that elementary archery participation numbers are way up, from 13 students in grades 5-6 last year to 36 this year. Carrington will host both a bullseye and 3-D tournament on Saturday, Jan. 29.

The Foster County Spelling Bee will take place on Feb. 8, with two students from each fifth through eighth grade class competing. The top two placers will qualify for the state contest.

High School Principal Chrystopher Bitz asked the board to consider changing district policy in order to offer open campus lunch to freshmen. Currently open campus lunch is only an option for students in grades 10 – 12. Bitz said that the topic first came up in September, during football season, when freshmen were unable to attend a team lunch off-campus.

Bitz noted that in many other schools, the freshmen are included with the high school regarding such policies.

“I think freshmen should be included,” board member Tonia Erickson said.

“I would be fine having that available to the freshmen,” board member Angela Kutz added.

Kuehn said that they will discuss the matter in the spring.

During his report, Kuehn handed out preliminary approvals for the building projects from the N.D. Department of Public Instruction. He said the football stadium cost estimate is still a bit ambiguous due to the concrete. To date, $196,427 has been pledged for the stadium.

Kutz inquired about the facilities for visitors at Stadium ‘76. Currently there are bleachers on the opposite side of the stadium, behind the fence. “It’s not very welcoming,” she said she was told. Board member Kevin Wolsky and Erickson said they could consider designating a section on the new bleachers for visitors, but noted that the facilities here in Carrington were similar to others.

The calendar committee met again, as requested.

“It’s kinda’ split within the calendar committee,” Wolsky reported. He brought back two proposals: the first was the original calendar presented last month, which board member Randy Hooey and Kutz had concerns with the timing of the full day of professional development in the fall. Plan B, Wolsky said, was to restore two early out days: Sept. 16 and Oct. 19, and remove the full day of professional development the teachers requested.

Kuehn noted, “The consensus I got yesterday was that they preferred the first option more than the second.”

Hooey made the motion to choose Plan B, with the two early out days in the fall, and it was approved unanimously.

Rugby has been selected as a host site for the Be Legendary Certification program in which the board agreed to participate. All board members will attend the two-day seminar on March 31 and April 1. This program is offered by N.D. Department of Public Instruction.

The board also reviewed and approved changes to the Return to Learning plan. Kuehn proposed to remove language that reflects practices the school district isn’t currently undertaking.

The semi-annual review of the district’s strategic plan was also on the agenda. Board members recommended that Kuehn refer back to the plan every month or two and make note of progress made on the various goals and strategies.