Moniteau School District unveiled its plans for returning to school, eyeing a Sept. 8 start date.

“This is a work in progress,” said Moniteau Superintendent Thomas Samosky, who presented the plans at Monday's board meeting. “This is a very fluid situation that we're dealing with in COVID. There could be further changes before the start of school.”

The board voted 8-1 in favor of the plan, with board member Michael Baptiste voting against it.

Moniteau's plan, like other districts, hinges on decisions by Gov. Tom Wolf, who has placed each county in a color-coded phase as part of his plans to reopen the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, Butler County is in the green phase, the most lenient of the three.

During the green phase, traditional schooling will be pursued at Moniteau, but parents will have an option for cyber school, using the Edgenuity platform.

A parent wishing for their child to pursue online education must commit to at least nine weeks in the program, and they have to notify the district of their intentions by Aug. 10.

“I speak as a parent before I speak as a principal,” said Lance Fox, high school principal and newly appointed coordinator for K-12 Cyber School learning. “We want your kids at the school. We want your kids here, but we respect your right to choose and your ability to protect your kids.”

If Wolf decides to shift the county back to the yellow or red phase, Moniteau has contingency plans in place.

In the yellow phase, the district would move to a hybrid plan, which would see students going to school two days per week and receive online instruction the remaining three days.

If moved to the red phase, Moniteau would return to a complete distance-learning format.

Samosky also acknowledged other changes taking place that will make an impact on students returning Sept. 8.

Students will have access to hands-free hand sanitizer, soap and paper towel dispensers throughout the building. Plexiglass barriers for high-traffic areas have also been secured.

Jeff Campbell, the district's director of buildings and grounds, said cleaning staff has updated their protocols, including further cleaning and chemicals in their routine. He said the HVAC upgrades the district pursued over the summer will also be helpful, especially the addition of air conditioning.

“I've been jumping on this stuff as soon as possible,” Campbell said.

Students will also experience new procedures throughout the school day. Temperature and health screenings, staggered arrival times and further staggered lunch times and places will all take place. The district will try to avoid visitors, but if they are needed, they must go through many of the same protocols as the students.

“If somebody has a high fever or answers 'yes' to any of the questions, they will not be allowed into the building,” said Aubrie Schnelle, a member of the district's pandemic team.

Schnelle and Nicole Fox, assistant principal at Dassa McKinney Elementary School, plan to produce some videos to demonstrate these new changes.

“Mrs. Fox and I are going to use our own children to model this.” Schnelle said. “They can see what questions are going to be asked.”

Samosky said he hopes parents will sit down and watch the videos with their children, and if they have questions to direct them to the administration. He said input from parents will be important moving forward.

One area stressed at the meeting was that masks will be worn by everyone at school and on buses, including the students. The rule would comply with Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine's mandatory order earlier this month for everyone to wear masks in a public setting.

“In the end, we want to ensure our kids are safe and our staff is safe,” Samosky said. “We have to remain flexible. We have to remain a team, and by team I mean a community, and we have.”