Morris Superintendent Holds Town Hall On Reopening

MORRISTOWN, NJ-Morris Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast on Thursday promised to continue the district's deliberate response to the pandemic as the school year approaches.

"We want to start conservatively and build methodically," Pendergrast said during a virtual town hall. "It's a conservative approach, but my job is to protect everybody."

The Morris School District's reopening plan involves 5 days of 4-hour instruction for elementary students and a 50/50 hybrid model for middle and high school students. About 20 percent of the district's 5,000 students elected to attend all-remote school.

Pendergrast outlined the school system's response to various scenarios where one or multiple students or teachers tests positive, which would primarily consist of contact tracing and two-week quarantining. The district's action would escalate accordingly up to switching to all remote instruction for a few days or longer.

Social-emotional learning this fall will include equity, inclusion and anti-racism, he added.

The superintendent said in-person school would take a number of steps, including social distancing, masks, sanitizer, and daily deep cleaning, but would not perform temperature checks.

"We don't have that capacity," he said, "we don't have the funds or the ability."

Pendergrast said parents will have to certify that their child does not have a temperature via an app. He added that if an athlete tests positive, that athlete and others on the team will have to test negative before being allowed to resume competing.

The superintendent said school HVAC units have been checked and are in good working order. He stressed that the units circulate air four times per hour, in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Throughout the meeting, Pendergrast said he would listen to the health department and other agencies when making decisions this year, and feels the schools are prepared.

"I want to put the district in the best possible position to flexibly respond," he said, "and at this moment, at least, I think we're in a good position."