Bainbridge Island schools superintendent Peter Bang-Knudsen told the school board recently that public health officials are talking about shifting the mindset from a COVID-19 pandemic to endemic approach.
During the past two weeks, COVID numbers have dropped, and the district is seeing fewer staff absences.
The superintendent said as the community moves into the next phase there is a need to respond to the challenges of isolation and loneliness that students have endured and to focus energies on students’ social-emotional well-being and mental health, which he believes will be a multiyear approach.
He said he’s looking forward to bringing back school traditions and community-building activities to re-engage students for a positive experience.
“I am getting more and more optimistic with each day that goes by,” Bang-Knudsen said.
At the meeting, the board voted to approve a $9.2 million bond resolution. BISD counsel Faith Pettis said the difference between this resolution and previous ones is it gives the district two potential methods of sale, to either sell bonds on the public market or to place them in a private placement to a financial institution.
Also, Diane Leonetti, executive director of Special Services, presented the first reading of three policies for board approval:
• Accommodating Students with Seizure Disorder or Epilepsy states how BISD will develop and follow an individual health plan for each student with a seizure disorder or epilepsy. The district will designate a medical professional, such as a registered nurse, to consult and coordinate with the student’s parents and health care provider, and train and supervise the appropriate school district personnel in proper procedures. A “parent designated adult” can be a district employee or nonschool district volunteer to provide seizure medication upon need of a student.
• Opioid-Related Overdose Reversal has been developed to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 5380, which states that, for the purpose of assisting a student at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose, a district’s high school(s) may obtain and maintain opioid overdose reversal medication. High schools have school nurses to support the needs of students, including those who may be at risk for opioid overdose. However, this policy allows for the consideration, and the processes by which school personnel may become designated trained responders and distribute or administer opioid overdose reversal medication. Leonetti said following approval, “We would obtain the medication and have it on hand that both Eagle Harbor and at the high school.”
• Prohibition Against Sexual Harassment is designed to support a positive and productive educational environment free from discrimination, including sexual harassment. The policy change clarifies the definition of sexual harassment, that it can occur between adult to student or student to student and that allegations of harassment will be investigated by the district even if the alleged aggressors are not part of the staff or student body. Some elements include an overview of investigation and response, retaliation and false allegations, and staff responsibilities.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10 at 5:45 p.m. in the BISD Board Room and broadcast/recorded via Zoom.
