‘Test-To-Stay’ Possible In Long Valley's Schools: Superintendent

LONG VALLEY, NJ — At Washington Township Schools’ first Board of Education meeting for the year, Superintendent Dr. Peter Turnamian updated attendees about options to keep learning in-person.

As part of that, he told the audience - some there and others remote - at Tuesday’s meeting, that in the coming weeks, the district is going to explore a “test-to-stay” program for “unvaccinated individuals determined to be a close contact from an in-school, positive case.”

New Jersey’s Department of Health he said, has provided updated guidance on test-to-stay programs; and he will give more information to the community “if a viable plan takes shape" for test-to-stay.

Having temporarily closed Long Valley Middle School for about 10 days following a COVID outbreak traced to a 6th grade PTA event just before Thanksgiving, Turnamian said though there was “heightened levels of anxiety for some in our community” to head back to school after the holiday break in December, it was important to do so for many reasons, namely students’ academic, social and emotional well-being.

Turnamian said he remained hopeful that 2022 would be the year that marks the end of the pandemic and that “families struggling in the community because of the surge of positive COVID cases, you have all of our best wishes for a speedy and healthy recovery.”

When one parent complimented the district’s decision to keep schools open following the break after many schools went virtual, Turnamian gave a nod to the staff working together and their commitment to the Washington Township Schools. Those districts that have gone remote, have done so in some cases, because of staff COVID absences after the break.

One resident, Alexandra Dougherty, commented during the public portion that test-to-stay should be for all students, not just the unvaccinated.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s do this correctly,” she said. “We all at this point know somebody who is fully vaccinated and most likely boosted that has come down with COVID.”

She cited a statistic which she claimed was from the CDC that the vaccine only has 35 percent effectiveness, also indicating that Middletown Public Schools has adopted a testing policy that the district should look into. Dougherty also recommended the district consider less stringent COVID policies in line with the CDC, versus New Jersey’s Department of Health.

Turnamian said he would take her suggestions under advisement, including testing for all with the local health department, but said it was inappropriate for him to comment on other districts’ policies.

See Washington Township Schools’ districtwide current COVID-19 case count information here.

The full discussion including, Turnamian’s remarks about test-to-stay, are in the video below. All public comments on the subject of COVID, including ones about masking, test-to-stay and other topics, are at about 1 hour 33 minutes into the video, with Turnamian’s replies, following:

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