The day after the spring semester began in the Cobb County School District, superintendent Chris Ragsdale said revised measures for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and employee quarantine will be implemented.
Speaking at the end of a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday afternoon, Ragsdale said he had received “hot off the presses” a letter Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sent to all public school districts in the state.
That letter included provisions to conduct more COVID-19 testing at schools, allow for optional contact tracing of cases at schools and to extend quarantine provisions for employees that currently have been for students.
The latter permits students identified as close contacts and who were exposed in a school setting to return to school right away if they are asymptomatic and wear masks for seven days.
The new guidance, which comes in the form of a new order from the Georgia Department of Public Health, also would permit teachers, administrators and support staff, regardless of vaccination status or point of exposure, to return to school immediately if they are asymptomatic and wear masks for seven days.
“It will greatly assist us in maintaining all our classrooms being open,” said Ragsdale, who informed parents Sunday that Cobb schools would begin the spring semester in face-to-face settings.
Several other metro Atlanta school districts are beginning classes this week online.
The revised Cobb school district protocols can be found by clicking here. The changes go into effect immediately.
Cobb and Marietta schools both resumed on Wednesday in-person and also do not have mask mandates.
Regarding the new contract tracing changes, Cobb has chosen not to contact-trace all suspected COVID-19 cases: “We continue to encourage families to make health decisions which are best for their families and to not send students to school sick.”
Ragsdale said during the Thursday meeting, which was called to elect 2022 school officers and meeting schedules, that contract-tracing duties has been “the biggest lift on staff resources . . . to have that accomplished and in a timely manner.”
He said there’s been considerable communication from parents about contact-tracing that occurs after a student’s quarantine period is over.
“This is a great option for some school districts,” Ragsdale said, referring to the new optional provision. “We will be choosing not to contact-trace all cases. There can be a situation where we do need to contact-trace, in some of those cases.”
More testing along the lines of “test to stay” provisions are included in the new protocols, and Ragsdale said he’s hopeful further resources will be coming from the state for schools to conduct those tests.
Ragsdale’s remarks came at the end of the meeting, but before he spoke, outgoing board chairman Randy Scamihorn said there would be no discussion of the new protocols among board members.
After Ragsdale was finished, the half-hour meeting was adjourned.
Related posts:
- Cobb schools report 2.4K students enrolled online for spring
- Cobb school board to select 2022 officers, meeting schedule
- Cobb schools to begin spring semester in-person
- PHOTOS: Former East Cobb Middle School campus demolished
- East Cobb would lose school board seat in recommended map
- Proposed Cobb school board map aimed at keeping GOP majority
- East Cobb MS earns STEAM certification from Cobb school district
- Cobb schools accrediting agency puts district on improvement plan
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Yup, it’s a regular feast at these meetings! Scami orders Howard’s mic cut off because he doesn’t like what he has to say (Truth!) about his buddy Banks, who probably wasn’t listening anyway. And Ragsdale was too busy flexing his glutes under his show-off shirt to worry about anything as trivial as Covid-19 matters. Could he exhibit any more disrespect or disregard for the proceedings than to show up dressed like that???
You forgot Scamihorn’s “All black people look alike” moment.
Cobb County School Superintendent Chris Ragsdale ends contact tracing and his buddy Randy Scamihorn doesn’t allow any discussions at School Board Meeting to protect the fragile ego of Ragsdale whose primary focus has been damaging the health and welfare of Cobb County children.