New school year now underway in Nye County

Most Nye County School District students returned to full-time in-person instruction at their respective schools on Tuesday, Aug. 10, which prompted Superintendent Dr. Warren Shillingburg to assuage safety concerns for parents amid the COVID-19 virus and its variants.

All kindergarten students district-wide will start school on Thursday, Aug. 12.

Shillingburg, by way of a letter to parents, stated that faculty members at all Nye County schools are excited to begin the new school year as they welcome back students.

“We had hoped COVID would be behind us by now, and we could simply have a normal school year, but unfortunately, that is not the case,” he said. “We still must keep some protocols in place until the virus transmissions are greatly reduced. We will continue with our cleaning regimen and will follow CDC guidelines if and when we have any reported COVID cases within our schools.”

Adhering to state directives

Further, Shillingburg said the Nye County School District is required to follow all state directives in regard to COVID -19 protocols.

Last week, Gov. Steve Sisolak issued a directive stating that Nevada will implement the latest federal guidance on the use of face coverings in schools in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In part, the directive stated that K-12 students in Washoe and Clark counties are required to wear masks while indoors regardless of their vaccine status.

Meanwhile, in Nye, and the state’s additional 15 counties, all K-12 schools including charter and private schools, must adopt indoor mask policies that comply with local directives from county governments or health authorities.

The school district comes with the updated safety guidance in the wake of a new mask mandate that went into effect in the state at the end of July.

“The state is recommending masks be worn indoors for students and is requiring masks for all adults while in a school building,” Shillingburg stated. “The directive also requires masks be worn by everyone while on a school bus. We are encouraging everyone to wear a mask as directed. We will, however, not ask our staff to intervene if anyone chooses not to wear a mask.”

The guidelines, according to Shillingburg, apply solely to Pahrump-area schools.

“Amargosa, Beatty, Duckwater, Gabbs, Round Mountain, and Tonopah combined have had only one case this summer,” he said. “As long as the cases remain near or at zero, there is no reason to apply the guidelines to these schools. If we have an outbreak in one of our schools, we will need to implement safety protocols in the short term for that particular school. This will be applied on a case-by-case basis.”

Implementation of new program

The superintendent also spoke about the district’s planned weekly COVID-19 testing program, which is also required by the state.

“Since we do not have the staff to manage this, we will be working with the state to provide this service,” Shillingburg noted. “We will also be working with the state to provide opportunities to get vaccinations on our school campuses. The fastest way we can get out of this situation is for everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. We hope by providing these opportunities on our campuses, it will help support our staff and families. Students will only be tested or provided with a vaccination with parental permission.”

Additional changes

As stated on the school district’s website, physical modifications at Nye County schools are being made on equipment, and supplies out of an abundance of caution.

“Buildings will be cleaned and sanitation practices will be encouraged as instituted in the previous school year,” the post stated. “Each school will have disinfectants as needed and the use of mechanical disinfectant sprayers will continue. We now have and use mechanical mixing stations to ensure proper water to sanitizer ratios to ensure the chemical performs and removes contaminants as indicated and required.”

Additionally, the post noted that custodians have been trained in the proper use of our sanitizer, specifically, the dwell time required by the manufacturer,” according to the post. “Contact surfaces are expected to be cleaned throughout the school day, and again after hours. Custodial hours may be adjusted to perform increased cleaning and sanitation for frequently touched surfaces, such as door handles, desks, handrails, and light switches when necessary.”

Safer drinking fountains

Touch-less hydration stations have been purchased for installation at schools across the district.

The refrigerated stations act as both drinking fountains and have the capacity to fill bottles.

“All students will continue to be encouraged to bring water bottles from home to refill during the school day,” according to the school district. “Only regular clear water may be brought to school, with no coloring added. Drinking fountain use is discouraged until the new hydration stations have been installed in the schools.”

New air filtration systems

Efforts have been made to purchase HVAC systems in Nye schools, to replace current systems district-wide, once funding becomes available to improve indoor air quality and ventilation systems.

System filters are changed regularly, according to the district.

On a final point, Shillingburg, meanwhile, said the school district will continue to work toward its goal of becoming the number one district in the state of Nevada.

“We have a long way to go, but we believe we can achieve this goal,” he proclaimed. “As we work together to keep all of our students in school and engaged in the learning process, we look to all of you to partner with us to help us achieve this goal. We want to provide your children with every opportunity to be successful and to reach their own goals and dreams.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes