Student wellbeing, mental health concerns leads Baraboo public schools to reopen sooner than planned

Dec. 17--Students in Baraboo public schools will return to their classrooms Jan. 4 after the school board split 4-3 Monday to resume in-person learning a week sooner than previously planned due to concerns about student well-being and mental health.

A lengthy and, at times, heated discussion about that decision followed emotional comments by the district's school resource officers, Amanda Sabol and Mike Pichler, and public comment from a Baraboo parent.

Sabol, in her second year as Jack Young Middle School's SRO, said she primarily deals with child welfare and students' issues at home. She described how some students tell her they need to be in school because it's a break from the difficult circumstances they live with, such as abusive, irresponsible or neglectful parents. Others hoard the food they get in school, because there's none at home, she said.

"I hear a lot of people in the public say, 'Well, they have to stay home. It's safer for them to be at home,'" Sabol said. "But a lot of people that are saying that, they didn't come from a home -- and they're so lucky -- that they didn't come from a home where domestic violence is what they see every night when they go home."

"If they're not in school, how do we know they're eating? How do I see their bruises from the night before? Because they're healed," she said. "I've heard people say, 'They can email you, they can email the counselors.' No, they can't. What if their parent reads that message? What if their parent sees that photo? What if their parent hears them talking to a teacher? The punishment's going to be even worse. So, if we don't get to see them and talk to them, we don't know that they're safe, and that worries us."

Sabol said she understands that the coronavirus poses a public health risk but wants to make sure the community pays more attention to children's mental health and remembers Kodie Dutcher, a 10-year-old Baraboo girl who killed herself over the summer. Dutcher is not the only Sauk County child to die by suicide during this pandemic, Sabol said.

Pichler, Baraboo High School's SRO, said virtual students appear to have "shut down."

"They sit home and they're basically just shut down. Friends of my own son have chose that option and shut down, and I think these kids need that interaction -- they need that interaction with each other," Pichler said.

Baraboo School Board member Paul Kujak, who also serves as president of the Baraboo Police & Fire Commission, introduced the school resource officers Monday for recognition after hearing Sabol's thoughts on the district's decision to switch to virtual learning from Nov. 30 until Jan. 11 in following with a Sauk County Health Department recommendation due to concerns about people gathering for the holidays.

Local health officials still recommend schools remain virtual until Jan. 11 because that accommodates a full quarantine period between Christmas and schools reopening, according to Mike Kohlman, school board vice president. Not all districts or private schools have followed the advice.

During public comment, Baraboo parent Dan Lewison also asked the board to resume in-person learning on Jan. 4, saying local case numbers have improved.

Board member Nancy Thome kicked off the discussion on whether to change instructional models with a motion to delay in-person learning until Jan. 25, the first day of the third quarter, but received no second. She later explained that she's spoken with more than a dozen teachers, all but one of whom asked her to keep the district in virtual learning because they're "terrified" that families will gather for the holidays.

"I think that is a concern, knowing how strongly that the teachers feel that we're risking their health right after a period when we know people are going to congregate in large groups. That's why Wisconsin got into the situation it did where we were third in the country not very many weeks ago for new COVID cases," Thome said.

She also pointed to issues with virtual students at the high school not receiving the attention they need when teachers have to focus on in-person students at the same time.

Board Treasurer Sean McNevin said many parents, students and staff have requested to him that the district reopen as soon as possible. Suggesting he'd like it to be even sooner, he moved to resume in-person learning Jan. 4 for the students who had previously opted for that model. Gwynne Peterson seconded.

"I know a lot of people spend a lot of time with the data, and I don't," McNevin said. "I just look at our kids and I look at the opportunity. I've been on the board 10 years and opportunity is the one word that I've taken away... that all kids deserve that opportunity, and for some of them, it's missing when they don't have a chance to be in person."

His motion passed 4-3 with McNevin, Kujak, Peterson and President Kevin Vodak in favor and Thome, Kohlman and Tim Heilman against.

Thome emphasized that the district is acting in defiance of local public health officials, who are looking at local case data and hospital capacity, which remains a problem. Kujak noted the decision is, however, consistent with recent advice from Anthony Fauci and other national health experts.

Some board members, even those who supported the measure, expressed concerns about staffing, citing the fact that Baraboo High School had to shut down before the rest of the district because too many staff were in quarantine. While McNevin said he would rather consider that issue closer to the reopening date, rather than "prematurely" deciding to stay closed, Heilman said it would be better to wait until leaders can be sure they won't have to shut back down due to shortages or case numbers, which he noted remain almost as high as they were when the district decided to go virtual.

"We absolutely, absolutely, absolutely have to get these kids back face-to-face. ... But I want to make sure they stay there," Heilman said, adding that closing and reopening and closing again is too disruptive and stressful for everyone.

"We need to work together, and we need to continue to bring these numbers down to a point when we go back that we are going to go back and we're going to be able to stay back," he said. "Let's stay the course (of reopening Jan. 11) and let's focus all of our energies on those students who are negatively impacted by this and talk about what we can do to further support those students."

Follow Susan Endres on Twitter @EndresSusan or call her at 745-3506.

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