The Lisbon school board has decided to stop reporting the number of COVID cases on their online dashboard weekly. The school district will continue to report COVID infections at the elementary school level to parents of any elementary student who has a positive case.
Lisbon superintendent Pat Hocking said the change is reflective of the situation for Lisbon Schools this year. Where last year, reporting of COVID infections was compulsory, with the vaccinations, parents and students don’t have to report what illness a student may have when they’re away from school. That’s led to weeks where the counts have progressively said the number of COVID infections are less than six at all grade levels, despite the school suspecting that may not be the case.
Hocking noted that the district will report to Linn County Public Health if absenteeism at the district for any illness causes more than 10 percent of the student body to be out sick, as that is dictated by law.
With the new CDC guidance on mask wearing following a COVID-19 infection, Hocking is sure that if a student was reported to have had a case of COVID, they will be encouraging that student to wear masks. The district, however, can not force a student to wear a face covering.
When it came to the elementary decision, Lisbon elementary principal Justin Brown noted that the vaccine has not been available for that age group as long as it has for middle school and high school students. Brown said it has led to cases where it’s impacted one student being away from a classroom, which could identify that student having a COVID-19 infection, which is something he was a little worried about.
Lisbon school board member Abbe Stensland noted situations like that are an issue in small school districts like Lisbon, and that it was more beneficial to let parents of elementary students know and monitor for symptoms of any possible infection. Lisbon school board member Robyn Richey agreed, stating from personal experience, she appreciates knowing her children were exposed to the virus.