'We’re slowing it down here'

PALMER — “We’re slowing it down here,” said Mat-Su Borough School District Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani at the Wednesday meeting of the School Board. “We think we’re being pretty successful at keeping the rate down and, in fact, it’s probably significant enough when you think about our 14,000 in school students and 2,500 staff members or 2,300, whatever it is. We’re probably mitigating the spread of the virus in the Valley itself because of the things that we’re doing.”

In Trani’s administrative report, he recapped the extensive data set collected on positive COVID-19 cases around the Valley and how they have been tracked within the school district. Over the Thanksgiving week, Trani instituted a short term closure, one of two out of five main strategies for mitigation that has been aggressively utilized to help curtail the spread of COVID-19.

“We recently implemented a three day closure for the district and I had explained why electronically and on the website. It was primarily driven by a couple things. We didn’t have enough substitute staff to safely operate the schools,” said Trani. “We feel like what we’ve done has kind of broken the curve and I’m going to show you some graphs.”

As of Wednesday, there had been 441 total cases associated with the school district and 59 % of those or about 260 people had been in the schools while infectious. Staff make up about one third of the positive cases, but more than triple the rate of students when comparing which cases were infectious in schools.

“I think the job we’re doing on this mitigation plan is fantastic but I have to ask why. We’re not dealing with Ebola, we’re not dealing with Polio or anything like that. The state website shows we’ve had six deaths, you have less than a .15 % chance of dying in the Valley,” said School Board Member Jeff Taylor. “I do believe we’ve been very effective in the COVID. We’ve probably also curbed the common cold and anything else and I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful mitigation plan but we’re missing some very very, we’ve had more deaths of suicide than we have COVID and I think that’s something we have got to consider. We are a major contributor to that I fear and I just wonder what we’re doing. I would like to see something done to help mitigate that and I think kids who are sick should stay home just like they always have for many years. I don’t know the answer, I just am pointing out that there is a serious problem because of the answers that we’re throwing at our public and we’re part of that.”

After Trani’s report, Taylor stated that he was worried about the mental health of students who are not interacting with other students in person, but on computers. Taylor said that he was concerned about suicide rate statistics, sexual predation and kidnapping of children.

“We’ve learned a lot, I mean March I get it. March was scarier than all get out for all of us. We didn’t know what we’re dealing with but now we do. We’re seeing the numbers we’re seeing things coming back and I’m just wondering if we can relook at it with more of the problems that we’re causing in mind,” said Taylor. “I do want to recognize the teachers. I do believe that there’s a group out there is susceptible more so than anybody else it is our teachers and I want to give them a big pat on the back for standing in front of their classes and things like that like they are. They deserve our adoration for that.”

Trani provided a graph of cases associated with the schools by week and highlighted week 13 where the line of positive cases reaches a peak and begins rapidly decreasing. Trani was proud that on Wednesday, MSBSD had in-person school for the 69th day and that 28 schools have remained open 90 % or more throughout the school year. Approximately 104 or 40 % of all of the positive COVID-19 cases that have been in the school buildings are among staff.

“Everyday we meet in the [Health Action Team] and the question that we try to answer is what can we do to keep schools open,” said Trani. “You are more likely to be exposed to the virus outside of the school than you are in the school and that’s why we keep saying it’s one of the safest spots you can be in the Valley.”

After trani’s presentation, he responded to Taylor’s question detailing the complexity of the issue and noting that most large districts in the state and on the West coast have not had in-person instruction. Trani also said that following the advice of the experts at the DHSS has guided the decision making. School Board Member Jim Hart asked Trani about the severity of infection among staff positive cases.

“We have had some staff members who’ve been more seriously impacted than others. As far as I know we haven’t had any deaths associated with any of our staff members or their family because of COVID so far,” said Trani. “We are being more successful at keeping potentially close contact students out of the building that we are at staff. I don’t know why, why that is just kind of we’re discovering lots of things as we go.”

As of Friday, MSBSD had 114 positive cases associated with the schools over the last two weeks. In Alaska, 34,041 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 744 new cases were announced today. There were 253 total cases announced in the Mat-Su today and the 4,457 Valley residents have tested positive. There have been 1,284 nonresident cases statewide and 37 in the Valley. Across Alaska, 779 people have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic and 141 residents have died. There are 134 people currently hospitalized and another 15 awaiting test results. Of those hospitalized in Alaska, 14.3 % are hospitalized from COVID-19 and only 27 Intensive Care Unit beds are available statewide. In the Mat-Su, there have been 51 cumulative hospitalizations and eight Valley residents have died. There are 24 people currently hospitalized accounting for 26.7 % of the entire Mat-Su Regional Medical Center patient population. There are two more patients awaiting test results and no ICU beds are available at MSRMC according to the DHSS dashboard.

“I think the most important thing that I’ve heard out there is keep schools open, both parents, both students and staff all pretty much in agreement to do that so that’s where we’re going to go and continue to plow through,” said School Board President Ole Larson.

Larson was sworn in as President on Wednesday after winning reelection in November. Larson wore a Burchell High School hoodie that was given as a gift and expressed his pride in the BHS students.

Trani noted that Knik Elementary was awarded as one of two National ESEA Distinguished Schools in Alaska this year.

“They look at schools that have taken populations that traditionally haven’t achieved as well as others and they have moved the needle,” said Trani. “They have met those students where they are and they have moved them further than you would expect.”