The Taylorville School Board met on Tuesday evening to discuss business, and look at solutions moving ahead to combat COVID-19. The school has announced a tentative plan, at least right now, of returning to in-person learning through “hybrid learning” which is part remote and part in-person. 

Superintendent Dr. Chris Dougherty says that it is paramount to get the students back into class, but the School needs to do it safely. The concern is classroom size and making sure that the school has enough teachers in case an outbreak happens. Right now the High School is looking at a tentative date of November 5th. The plan for Elementary and Junior High may be different and is still being discussed.

Dr. Dougherty says that 10% of parents want to stay in remote learning and she says that is fine. The superintendent continued by stressing that the day will be structured to make sure that everything is done in a safe and secure manner.

The plan for the week is to have a deep sanitation done every Wednesday.

Again, this plan is very tentative and the Board will be holding a special meeting towards the end of October to discuss whether or not to fully go forward with this plan. One area of concern for Dr. Dougherty is immunizations. While Students have been able to remote learn from home, they will not be allowed in class without updated immunizations. Please check to make sure your child’s immunizations are current. They need to be submitted by October 15th. School Board President Stephen Turner says that it has been a tough road so far due to all the fluidity of the situation and just how much everything has changed since March.

The District Leadership Team is set to meet on October 21st, and the plan is to have a special meeting to discuss the plan from that District Leadership Team meeting afterward. 

Many parents spoke at the beginning of the meeting again encouraging transparency and open communication. There is some concern from parents about the ACT/SAT which is set to take place on October 14th and the lack of prep that some students may have.  The meeting concluded with a report on the audit. The School is looking fairly well for its audit, with a financial profile score of 3.9 out of 4 and over 1 million dollars in their rainy day fund. Dr. Dougherty thanked her business staff for their hard work.  The next regular School Board meeting is set for November 9th. Stay tuned to Regional Radio News for more on the Taylorville School District and the plan to go back to in-class learning.