Facing pleas by the public and board members, the Seneca Valley School Board voted Monday to return to five-day in-person instruction beginning Oct. 5.

In a 7-2 vote, the board moved forward with its plan since switching in early August to a blended learning model in which students have attended virtually three days weekly and in-person twice a week.

Prefacing the board's meeting were several speakers, each having different views on returning to instruction or sport attendance. Jessica Dodd, a parent, said her elementary students were not faring well with the current cohort model, and Meredith Wolfe noted that she believed limitations on fan attendance at volleyball games is “just unfair.”

Conversely, Rebecca Snyder said returning at this point to five-day-a-week instruction was a poor idea, and Anne Castagnero, a Seneca Valley senior student, argued that social distancing in full classrooms was nearly impossible.

“I worry that, if we are to go to full capacity and we add 10 to 15 more students to my class, the students aren't being safe … and the teachers are at risk” due to the difficulty of effectively distancing, Castagnero said.

Members of the board were almost equally divided in their opinions.

Board vice president Eric DiTullio said he expects returning to full-time, in-person learning would be beneficial for both special needs and gifted students alike, and added he was sympathetic to parents who, in their quest to help educate their children, felt like they were unable to fully do so.

“I think that's one of the reasons I'm very supportive of us returning to five days a week,” he said.

Board member Tim Hester said he saw no conceivable way the district could safely return with the sizes of schools, hallways, buses and classrooms.

“With our plan, we've put every kid in a room, I'm very concerned about the social distancing aspect,” he said. “Because of that, I do not support going back five days a week at this point,” but added he would support it in the future.

Fred Peterson, who represents Cranberry Township on the board, said he supports the plan with “great hesitation,” believing the impacts on students' mental health outweigh the dangers of viral transmission in schools.

Board member Mike Jacobs said he views every hurdle to returning full time, such as contact tracing and the availability of personal protective equipment, as having been “reasonably satisfied,” with coronavirus numbers in other county districts that have turned full-time not having caused any “significant disruption.”

“Numbers and protocols are one thing, but the impact on people is another,” he said. “I think if we had multiple children learning at home while we're trying to work full time, we would know it's not working.”

Jeff Widdowson, the board's Evans City representative, said the board's mission is to “strive for five,” but added another caveat: to do so safely. He argued the limited amount of data from Seneca Valley's return made it unconscionable to return full-time at this point.

“We know that social distancing and masks are our best defenses right now, and it looks like, tonight, we are pretty much going to choose to ignore it,” he said. “I am vehemently opposed to going back five days at this point.”

Immediately after the board voted to approve the Oct. 5 return plan, Widdowson introduced a motion to remain in the blended learning model for the first quarter of school and for the board to then reevaluate.

That motion failed by the same margin as the Oct. 5 plan passed, 2-7.