Ark Valley News - Learning plan enters second week

Learning plan enters second week
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: April 09, 2020

Stay-at-home orders continued to lock down Valley Center, along with most of the country, this week as residents coped with the coronavirus pandemic.

At-home schooling entered its second week, and some local businesses faced an uncertain few weeks ahead. A few businesses temporarily closed. Many more took further steps to curb public access, closing lobbies and moving employees to home offices.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sedgwick County increased from 124 to 134 on April 7. Of that number 23 recovered. There has been one death.

It's unclear which city the confirmed cases are from. A county spokesperson told The News that the Sedgwick County Health Department does not release names of cities with confirmed cases because a patient could potentially be identified with that information.

Statewide, the number of confirmed cases jumped from 845 to 900, and there have been 27 deaths.

For the Valley Center school district, the continuous learning plan became a new normal as students and families settled into the work-from-home system for the remainder of the school year.

"I could not be more proud than I am about what has happened the past three weeks," Superintendent Cory Gibson said.

During its meeting on April 6, the school board saw some of the work students were performing and took a number of votes to keep the system on track.

The board approved the district's application for a waiver of the state-mandated teacher-student contact hours. The district has completed 868 hours this school year and is asking the state to waive the remaining 248 hours.

The application spelled out the district's plan for continuous learning.

The board also approved a memorandum of understanding between the district and the teachers' union, incorporating the change in teaching requirements brought on by the school shutdown order.

In a related move, the board approved modifications to work agreements and contracts for non-teaching positions.

The district said all district staff will be paid, even those with supplemental contracts.

The district this week began distributing paper packets to families that don't have reliable Internet access.

The school board also learned:

•That high school administrators and counselors were to have a meeting with seniors on April 8 to discuss issues particular to them, such as graduation and transcripts.

•That the district had distributed 17,542 free meals as of April 6 to children up to age 18 at six pick-up locations throughout the district.

•That the district had delivered 187 technology devices to students who needed them.

•That a federal conoravirus stimulus package aimed at public schools could translate into $200,000 for the Valley Center school district.

Valley Center city buildings remained closed to the public this week as several city employees continued working from their homes.

City Administrator Brent Clark said the top concerns he's heard from residents involve trash cart lid replacements and the brush pile.

During a meeting on Zoom April 9, the city council thanked staff for being flexible and keeping services running.

"It's been amazing how things have been going, and I'm very happy for our staff doing what they're doing and how things are working out," said Mayor Lou Cicirello.

The council also learned that there likely will be a pause in the city's strategic planning process and the budget-setting timeline may be pushed back a couple of weeks because of the pandemic.

Barry Smith, assistant city administrator, said the city is encouraging residents to pay their utility bills and municipal court fines online because it "streamlines the entire payment process."

The city is temporarily waiving the $1.25 transaction fee.

Council member Ben Anderson, who cooks meals for the Senior Association, said participation in the drive-through meal service at the Community Center grew to 83 on April 7. Last week, the count was below 70. Meals are offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

"We're going to continue to feed everyone we can," Anderson said.

In other business April 7, the city council:

•Approved an addition to an agreement that establishes a point of distribution in Valley Center in the event of a mass emergency. The addition allows Park City residents to access to distribution point.

•Approved a change order for the waterline replacement project, installing adapters for smaller water meters and tracer wire for longer service lines. Cost is $15,930.

•Learned that Valley Center's participation rate in the 2020 Census so far is 60 percent, compared to 47.5 percent overall and 50 percent for Kansas.