VESTAL (WBNG) -- Top decision makers in the Vestal School Central School District are weighing in after several parents came forward, complaining that the district is dragging their feet in transitioning students back into the classroom five days a week.
Parents expressed to 12 News that they felt the district wasn't being transparent about the decision making process, and they wanted answers.
When it comes to decisions regarding the Vestal Central School District's reopening plan, many parents want to know where the buck stops.
"Where does the buck stop? It stops with the superintendent and the board of education," said superintendent Jeff Ahearn.
Ahearn and Board of Education President Mario Nunes say though the decision comes down to them, it's actually several subcommittees whose input goes into the final decision. Those include teachers and those in the transportation and athletics departments among others.
"Our decision making was focused on satisfying various voices within the district, and trying to take into consideration those who were more interested in more class time versus those who were more concerned about safety," Nunes said.
They say that input then goes to a steering committee which gathers and interprets the information before sending it to the board and superintendent, who make the final decision.
Some parents expressed to 12 News frustration that the district has pointed to the Broome County Health Department as the reason students are required to remain masked more frequently than other districts, as well as for other guidelines being enforced.
Ahearn says the district is following guidance, not requirements from the health department, and since the fall the district has actively chosen to take a more conservative approach to their reopening plan than other districts have.
"From the beginning we decided we were going to follow the Broome County guidelines, they are conservative but they lined up with our approach," Ahearn said.
Other parents we spoke with questioned why the district isn't able to increase their capacity by moving students around and maximizing available space, or by installing Plexiglas partitions like other districts have done. Ahearn says it's as simple as the fact that the district is already at maximum capacity.
"We don't have extra space in our buildings to move kids around from one building to the next," he said. "Our rooms are pretty much full."
He says desk partitions are being considered as the district phases in more students.
"We are looking into those," he said. "Now that our numbers are coming down from the winter break we're taking a look at that, and looking for a way to bring more kids in with desk partitions."
Ahearn says complaints that the district is not being responisve enough to messages and concerns expressed by parents are heard, and the district is working on it.
"We're answering the phone calls we're answering the emails but we recognize that people are saying it's not satisfactory so we're looking at other means" he said.
He says that includes more frequent updates on the district's website as well as possible newsletters outlining any changes to guidance.
Nunes was less certain that there needs to be improvement when it comes to communication.
"The idea that we're not being responsive, I'm not quite certain how to respond to that because I've never turned anybody away," he said.
At the end of the day Ahearn says everyone has the same goal, and that is to bring students back in person five days a week as soon as possible.
He stresses however that not everyone will agree on the best way to accomplish that, and the district will not put students or staff in danger simply to get it done quicker.
"We all want the same thing," he said. "Decisions are only going to make some people happy, we just have to continue working together to get through this so we can get kids in front of teachers as soon as possible."
You can review the district's reopening plan by clicking here.
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March 03, 2021 at 09:10AM
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Vestal superintendent, board president weigh in on parent concerns over reopening plan - WBNG-TV
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