St. Charles Dist. 303 School Board member wants board to ask state legislators to relax COVID-19 restrictions

School Board Vice-President Carolyn Waibel addressed issue at recent board meeting

Dist. 303 School Board Vice-President Carolyn Waibel would like the school board to talk to state legislators about the current COVID-19 restrictions that prevent more in-person learning from taking place.

Waibel said during a recent school board meeting that she would like to see board members reach out to state legislatures about relaxing the COVID-19 restrictions currently in place.

As part of the last phase of the state’s Restore Illinois plan – “all sectors of the economy reopen with businesses, schools, and recreation resuming normal operations with new safety guidance and procedures.”

“What we’ve heard is that we will not go to phase 5 until immunizations are at 80%,” Waibel said. “If that’s the case, we will not be able to return to full school for a while. And with us being a large unit district, it’s going to be a while for us to be able to house all the students.”

Dist. 303 elementary school students are doing in-person learning, while middle and high school students are doing a hybrid of in-person and remote learning. Under the current guidelines from the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health, no more than 50 people can be gathered in any space at any time, including cafeterias, auditoriums and gyms. In addition, all individuals must maintain a physical distance of six feet throughout the campus and student desks must be placed at least six feet apart.

“I’d like to see what this board can try to at least do at the legislative level since our hands have been tied and we’ve had such a public outcry from the community,” Waibel said. “I think it would be in our best interests to at least try and do something for our community to get us moving.”

Dist. 303 parents as well as students have held several rallies in support of more in-person learning. Assistant Superintendent Mark Moore had previously told board members that because of the current COVID-19 restrictions, “trying to have school for all students every day is simply not possible. There is not enough space in any middle school or high school to allow that to happen.”

Board President Nick Manheim told Waibel that he could talk to Dist. 303 Superintendent Jason Pearson about the matter and that the issue could be discussed at a future board committee meeting.