Sports, masks, and vaccination discussed at Dayton School Board meeting

DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met on August 18 for a regular school board meeting. Dayton School District had its first day of the 2021-22 school year on August 24.

Before the business meeting, Superintendent Guy Strot spoke on recent mask mandates, which went into effect on Monday, August 23. Strot said that, aside from health-related risks, the school district had multiple reasons to comply with the mandate.

According to Strot, the school’s insurance company has stated that they will not insure the school if the district does not follow the mandate. Washington schools that do not comply with the mask mandate risk losing their state and federal funding said Strot.

The recent mask mandate removes local control, according to Strot, and does not allow the district or Public Health Department to give direction or advise school districts. Last year, county health departments were able to direct school districts regarding in-person learning and mask requirements.

Strot briefly discussed the sexual health education requirements that went into effect in December 2020. Strot said the curriculum would not be implemented for elementary students for the 2021-22 school year; however, it would be taught in the secondary grades. The secondary curriculum will include mental health education, STD prevention education, HIV/AIDS prevention education, suicide prevention, and sexual health education.

According to the state’s website, ‘...all public schools must begin providing or planning to provide comprehensive sexual health education (CSHE) to all students by the 2022-23 school year. Instruction must be consistent with Health Education K-12 Learning Standards, which provide a framework for comprehensive instruction, and the provisions of RCW 28A.300.475. CSHE for students in grades 4-12 is defined in the law as “recurring instruction in human development and reproduction that is medically accurate, age-appropriate and inclusive of all students, using language and strategies that recognize all protected classes.” Instruction for students in grades Kindergarten through third grade is defined in the law as Social-Emotional Learning.’

Strot said the district would form a committee later in the school year to review and select CSHE-compliant curriculums for elementary students.

The Dayton School District will not teach Critical Race Theory (CRT) to students or staff, reported Strot. Parents of Dayton School District students have strongly opposed the teachings throughout the summer. Strot said the state requires two types of training, and the district will be focusing on inclusion and equity education. Strot said equity training addresses different living situations, including poverty and socioeconomics. Inclusion training will focus on individual education plans and related items. The state requires the training.

Strot addressed the vaccination mandate announced last Wednesday, requiring all K-12 staff, including educators and administration staff, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 18. Strot said it was unclear if religious or medical exemptions are allowed under the mandate, so he has reached out to local representatives to seek clarification.

“My personal opinion is that it should be a personal choice,” Strot said. “I feel like it is dividing our school district and school districts around the state. I have shared that opinion with our representatives and senators. I was hoping that there would be an out like there is in California that allows weekly testing, but that is not going to happen.”

The board accepted six resignations and approved more than ten recommendations for hiring, including athletic coaching staff and teachers. In the budget report, Business Manager Paula Moisio advised the school board to be mindful of the impact that hiring lots of new staff would have on the budget.

During public comment, Jeremy Trump asked about the Dayton-Waitsburg Athletic combine, expressing concern over the absence of the DW Athletic Combine Committee, which has not met since February of 2020. While not officially dissolved, the combine committee has transitioned to being led by the superintendents and high school principals from both Dayton and Waitsburg and the DW athletic director, Sam Korsund.

Trump wanted clarification regarding athletic changes, ranging from accepting new athletic and athletic parent code of conduct, mascot selection, and facility use plans. During his report, Korslund said he did want to revive the combine committee.

Korslund began exploring a new facility use plan over the summer. At the July 22 Waitsburg School Board meeting, Korslund suggested changes, including moving all fall sports (high school volleyball and high school and middle school football) to Waitsburg. Middle school volleyball would be played in Dayton. Winter sports, including boys and girls basketball, would be played in Dayton. Dayton’s basketball court size, and a third locker room, were two reasons for keeping basketball in Dayton. He did say that splitting the seasons was an option; however, coaches or athletes did not seem interested in doing that.

Korslund said he would like to split ticket revenue between the two schools while offering concession revenue to various class and school clubs and organizations.

“I want to do whatever is in the best interest of these kids,” Korslund said. “I’m not interested in traditions or history. I do want to honor all of that, but we have to make decisions based on what is best for the kids now, today.”

Korslund reported 29 athletes have registered for football and 14 for volleyball, with the numbers ‘changing by the hour’ as registrations continued to flow in. Sixteen middle school football athletes and ten middle school volleyball athletes were registered as of August 22.

Masks will not be required for athletes on the field or the court, but coaches and benched athletes must wear a mask indoors.

Korlsund said that at a league meeting, it was decided that canceled games due to COVID-19 or other outbreaks or because of academics would result in a team’s forfeiture. Games canceled due to uncontrollable circumstances, such as poor air quality, would be made up later if possible.