photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World Illustration

As the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs and the community reopens further, the Lawrence school district and dozens of its students recently learned that public spaces still pose a virus threat.

A few days after the students were exposed, the Lawrence school district announced that it would keep its COVID-19 protocols through the summer, even if Douglas County chooses to rescind public health orders soon.

Meanwhile, other area school districts are either ready to drop the protocols when the school year ends in the coming week, or are undecided on how summer school will look.

Last week, nearly 60 students at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School were asked to quarantine after coming in close contact with another student who had contracted COVID-19. Although classes in the Lawrence district have been fully in-person since March, the affected students were moved to learning remotely until their quarantine ends, which almost coincides with the remainder of the school year.

However, district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said the situation was not common. According to the district website, only 16 cases had been reported in the nearly two months since schools fully reopened. That’s less than half the number of cases in the month of January, when 44 cases were reported while schools were still using hybrid learning methods.

“We have had relatively few reports from students or staff members testing positive for COVID-19 this spring,” Boyle said in an email. “As we look toward the final days of the school year and upcoming celebrations of student and staff accomplishments, the district encourages members of our school community to continue following public health and safety measures and to get vaccinated if eligible.”

But the district still is wary about the possibility of COVID-19 in its school buildings.

The district said in a message to parents on Wednesday that it would keep its COVID-19 precautions in place, including the mask requirement, until at least the end of summer school programming. The district will decide later whether those protocols will remain for the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.

Those precautions will continue this summer even if Douglas County chooses to rescind its public health orders, such as a mask mandate, before then. The county’s mandate could be removed as early as Wednesday.

In the district’s announcement, Superintendent Anthony Lewis noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called on schools to continue using COVID-19 protocols, even though it had updated guidance to allow for vaccinated individuals to no longer wear masks in most situations.

Lewis said Kansas adopted this guidance and the school district would follow it. He also noted that local public health officials recommended that the County Commission continue with health precautions at schools.

“The assistance, hard work, and sacrifices of our school community have made a difference in our district’s efforts to maintain safe learning environments for all students and staff,” Lewis said. “We know that continuing our current mitigation strategies will limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and enable us to finish our school year strong and host upcoming celebrations of the accomplishments of our students and staff.”

Elsewhere, schools are taking a wait-and-see approach about the summer. Officials for Baldwin City and Eudora school districts told the Journal-World that their districts would use protocols until the end of the current school year but are waiting for their school boards to decide whether protocols will be used in the summer programming.

Mark Dodge, a spokesman for Eudora, and Baldwin Superintendent Paul Dorathy both said their district school boards would make a decision on the summer soon.

Meanwhile, the Perry-Lecompton school district will lift its mask mandate on June 1, said Superintendent J.B. Elliott. The Perry-Lecompton school district serves students both in Douglas and Jefferson counties. While Douglas County currently has a mask mandate, Jefferson County lifted its mandate in March.

But the district will still use weekly testing of students participating in summer activities to monitor any spread of the virus. Students who opt out of testing would be required to wear a mask.

“We believe we can provide a safe environment for students and staff through our summer activities without requiring masks to be worn,” the district said in a follow-up message. “However, we want to confirm this, especially before making decisions about the start of school next fall. With weekly testing, we can monitor students this summer and collect important data directly related to the Perry-Lecompton school community.”

Part of the reason these discussions are still occurring for schools is because students under age 12 are not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

George Diepenbrock, a spokesman for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said the county recently began vaccinating residents between the ages of 12 and 15, increasing the number of students in classrooms who are protected from the disease. As the Journal-World previously reported, hundreds of 12- to 15-year-olds have already gotten their first dose of the vaccine.

“Any students younger than 11 in schools right now are not eligible for vaccinations and from that perspective would be considered higher risk of COVID exposure because most adults and students above 16 have had the chance to likely be fully vaccinated or are on the way,” he said.

Referencing the cases at Liberty Memorial, Diepenbrock acknowledged large numbers of quarantines can still be required, but the health department hopes that will fall with more vaccinations occurring in the community. He also said that individuals who have received both of their shots will not be required to quarantine when deemed in close contact for at least six months.

“We have found this can be an incentive for some, including parents of children who are eligible now, to make vaccine appointments,” he said. “We appreciate all the parents and children who have come forward to get vaccinated so far because their actions are helping make a difference for our community.”