The Deke Kathman Administration Building located on Martin Road in Jamestown. P-J file photo

Jamestown Public Schools officials are awaiting potential COVID-19 guidelines from the state Education Department after the nation’s top public health agency recently dropped its quarantine and distancing recommendations.

Dr. Kevin Whitaker said he hopes state guidance follows that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The superintendent, speaking to reporters following Tuesday’s Jamestown Public Schools Board meeting, said information from the state could come as soon as next week.

“I would anticipate, fingers crossed as much as possible, that it would mirror the CDC’s release,” Whitaker said. “So, we’ll see next week, but I sure hope they don’t throw a wrench in the works.”

The CDC last week dropped its recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with a person infected with COVID-19. It also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.

According to the Associated Press and citing CDC officials, the changes are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected.

“The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” said the CDC’s Greta Massetti, an author of the guidelines.

According to the AP, the CDC also dropped a “test-to-stay” recommendation, which said students exposed to COVID-19 could regularly test — instead of quarantining at home — to keep attending school. With no quarantine recommendation anymore, the testing option disappeared too.

Masks continue to be recommended only in areas where community transmission is deemed high, or if a person is considered at high risk of severe illness.

In Jamestown, students return to school for a half-day of class on Tuesday, Sept. 6; the first full day is Wednesday, Sept. 7.

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS

School board members on Tuesday approved a number of instructional personnel appointments, which included more than 50 substitute teachers.

Whitaker said the COVID-19 pandemic drove a need for substitute teachers.

“Last year, and the year before to be honest, we had a mandatory quarantine period,” he said. “So, if you had potential symptoms or thought you might have been sick, you’re out for five days or two weeks, depending on the time frame in which that happens. So that drove up the need for substitute teachers significantly.”

Finding those able to come in and be substitutes, like many professions, has had its difficulties, Whitaker said.

“Across the country, really, and certainly across the state and across our region there has been a challenge — and this is true in education, if you’re in a restaurant or a movie theater — it’s tough to find people to come to work and who are willing to apply for positions and take positions,” he said. “So we started as early as possible, and we’ve really been putting feelers out to try to get people’s interest up.”

BUS DRIVERS

On Tuesday, school board members also approved a rate increase for substitute bus drivers. For substitute drivers, the rate increases to $19 an hour, while the rate increases to $21 an hour for retired substitute drivers.

The bump in hourly pay puts the district in line with surrounding schools.

“Bus drivers have always been a challenge,” Whitaker said. “Bus drivers can be of any age, of course, but they tend to be more retired folks or folks who are in their second career. And they were, over the past two years, at a higher risk for complications of COVID. With COVID easing, we’ve been fortunate to maintain the level of bus drivers that we have needed and we’re offering the opportunity for retired folks to come back at a higher rate of pay hoping that we can attract.”