Bethel Park School Board OKs reopening plan; review, revisions could come at Aug. 17 meeting

Bethel Park School District families will have three options to start the upcoming school year.

Students can return to full-time in person learning; an online option through the district’s cyber academy and a third-party curriculum; and a separate, remote learning option run by district teachers using the district’s curriculum.

The options were part of the district’s 2021-22 school year plan that was approved via 8-1 vote Aug. 2.

Board President Pam Dobos dissented. The plan is expected to be posted to the district’s website this week.

School directors bumped up this month’s regular voting session a full week to Tuesday, Aug. 17 in order to review and make any necessary revisions based on the latest guidance from the Allegheny County Health Department and related state and federal health agencies.

Bethel Park School District will hold a voting meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17. The meeting, which was originally scheduled to be held on Aug. 24, is open to the public, can also be viewed on our YouTube channel via live-stream. https://t.co/OIgeiLHmqY pic.twitter.com/99tbwNYXPi

— Bethel Park SD (@bpsdinfo) August 3, 2021

District communications director James Cromie said the board and administration will continue to monitor covid case numbers as well as official safety recommendations for schools.

“It’s just so that we can get the most accurate and most up-t0-date data before making decisions about (the start of the school year),” Cromie said. “We had already planned to have another voting meeting in August for late hires. Ultimately, we can deal with the late hires while taking time to make a firm decision on what we’re going to do as far as our safety measures.

“If we’ve learned nothing else, it’s that the variables here (change) quickly and dramatically throughout the pandemic. We need to make sure that we’re making the best decisions that we can with the most information possible,” he said.

Preliminary plans do not require students and staff to wear masks. Social distancing is encouraged when possible.

The board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the administration offices, 301 Church Road.

The first day of school is set for Tuesday, Aug. 24. There are roughly 4,000 students enrolled in district schools for the 2021-22 year.

More information about school district activities is available at bpsd.org.

A previous version of this report stated the board postponed a vote on the back-to-school plan until the Aug. 17 meeting. The erroneous information was provided to the Tribune-Review by the district. The story will be updated as more information becomes available.