Watertown Schools Being Audited As Remote Classes Continue

WATERTOWN, MA — Watertown Public Schools are being audited by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as remote classes continue in the district.

Watertown Schools were called out by DESE last month for its decision to remain remote, despite low COVID-19 transmission rates. Education Commissioner Jeff Riley asked Watertown and 15 other districts for more information about their fall reopening plans and gave them 10 calendar days to respond.

East Longmeadow is the only other district in the state being audited by DESE. The two districts are being audited because they have not made significant changes to their reopening timeline, according to Masslive.

“I understand that some districts have expressed concerns about the ability to operationalize in-person learning due to fiscal constraints. As you know, the Commonwealth has provided significant financial support to districts,” Riley wrote in letters sent to Watertown and East Longmeadow school districts, “As a reminder, the state is currently accepting applications for Coronavirus Relief Fund Round 2 funding, which can also be used for school reopening costs.”

The state uses a color-coded metric system based on average daily COVID-19 incidence rates over a two-week period.

Red is for communities with an average daily case rate of more than eight per 100,000 residents, yellow is between four and eight, and green for less than four. Cities and towns with fewer than five cases in the two-week period, regardless of the rate, are in the "gray" or "unshaded" category.

Watertown is considered a "moderate risk" community because it has an average daily incidence rate of 4.5 cases per every 100,000 residents.