District 225 takes longer look at COVID testing
Testing for COVID-19 had previously been brought up by the Glenbrook High Schools District 225 board of education, but it gained more traction Monday night.
The board held its third special meeting in six weeks, the focus on Monday being a "testing exploration process."
"There was some question about the urgency on this topic. Really, our feeling in terms of the urgency is to have it implemented in a meaningful time frame is where the urgency is coming from," said Superintendent Dr. Charles Johns.
"We don't have any other source of urgency on this topic other than to do it really to correspond with some of the things that we're seeing in terms of (COVID) rates rising in the area."
Tests would be administered to both students and staff.
A survey indicated parents and staff were vastly in favor of testing, 89 percent of parents and even higher for staff.
The proposed testing framework was voluntary participation for students for in-person instruction, and a saliva-based test administered at home once a week.
Options such as mandatory participation and twice-weekly testing, random sampling and testing smaller, higher-risk groups such as athletes, are on the table.
A consultant at Monday's meeting, Dr. Ed Campbell, said New Trier High School, which has paused its hybrid instruction and athletic contact days the past two weeks due to a general increase in COVID cases - not the schools' students or staff, New Trier Superintendent Paul Sally noted on the school's website - will start testing for COVID-19.
New Trier has approved a contract for voluntary weekly saliva screening for students and staff, Sally wrote in an update on the website.
At the lowest-priced of the tests considered, $11 per unit, weekly tests for 850 total District 225 staff and 5,200 students could be $66,550. Per year, starting Nov. 9, that would be $1,796,850, though the cost would be reduced by roughly one-third based on the 3,194 students currently opting into in-person instruction in District 225. There are 226 certified staff members approved for accommodation for teaching from home.
"As the chief financial officer of this school district I am here to tell you that making any decision that is of this value most certainly requires processing, cost-benefit analysis and a variety of follow-up questions," said Dr. R.J. Gravel, the district's assistant superintendent of business services.
Board President Bruce Doughty stated the importance of accurately identifying in-school attendance figures, because "we're talking about a staggering amount of money here ..."
Discussion and questions centered on the need for those opt-in numbers, testing at-risk groups or random sampling, weekly or twice-weekly testing or voluntary or mandatory testing - if requiring testing is preferred or even legal.
Doughty requested staff put together "concrete proposals" for submission at the Oct. 26 board meeting before presenting the information to district parents.