Chico Unified School board votes to continue split schedule

The school board voted to continue with the a.m.

/p.m.

Model after Winter break but they will meet again in February to reassess the situation.

Unified -- out with a plan to keep kids on campus through the spring semester.

New at 5-thirty -- action news now reporter kristian lopez is live in chico with the decision?

?

The board voted to continue with the am/pm model after winter break but they will meet again in february to reassess the situation.

Reopening schools completely could be a possiblity.

Jody taylor/parent for reopening: my kids were thrilled to be back for the two hours but they'd be happy to be back for even more.

Chico unified parent jody taylor says not opening schools completley is taking a toll on children's mental health.

Taylor/parent for reopening: our kids are really struggling, this isolation and only getting a few hours of interaction are not working.

Tom lando/board member: i think there are a lot of things affecting their mental health however the affects of them being on campus and not doing normal school things and having to wear masks and be six feet apart and seeing teachers and friends potentially getting sick that could stress them out.

School board member tom lando says reopening schools completely is risky because there is still not enough data to show what can happen at schools during the pandemic.

Tom lando/board member: of the speakers we heard from at the meeting, three were public health experts, all of them urged us to be careful and that full reopening was probably not in the best of the students or the community.

But in a few weeks the school board will meet again to reassess the risks and decide how to move forward.

Jody taylor/parent for reopening : the data is overwhelmingly showing us, this is not working, at the secondary level, 5 times as many f's have been handed out compared to this time last year.

5 times as many.

Tom lando/board member against reopening: i am aware the number of f's have gone up.

My reaction is that that is terrible, but its not just indicitivate of online school not working but all the stress and uncertainty going on in this strange year, a lot of schools are looking at ways to mitigate that, going pass fail, turning fs into ds.

We have been aware that colleges are changing the way they accept applicants.

Jody taylor/parent for reopening: we feel the benefits of them being in school outweigh the risks, they are safer on campus then they could be anywhere else, they are wearing masks, wearing their masks, all of the safety measures are being practiced while on campus.

That chico unified board meeting will take place on februrary 3rd.

Kristian lopex action news now coverage you can count on..

The chico unified school districts website says since schools reopened in october there have been a total of 80 cases confirmed among students and staff in the district.