The Greene County School District will switch to remote learning soon. 

The School Board voted unanimously in special session Wednesday to apply for a temporary waiver to the Iowa Department of Education for the District to move to remote learning from November 16th-24th. Superintendent Tim Christensen says he recommended the change because the County’s positivity rate for the previous 14-days is over 23-percent and limiting large gatherings, finding staff to cover classes for those who have tested positive or have to quarantine, and a significant number of students who are not in school due to COVID-19 issues. 

“And really hope that, over this next two week stretch, we can really attack this issue and make a dent in it. So that after Thanksgiving to Christmas, we can have a positive experience for kids and have them all in school.”

Board President Steve Fisher shared his thoughts on making the switch to online learning through Thanksgiving break.

“I think the Board is resolute, that our goal is to keep kids in school and give them the best opportunity to have an education that they can have. But right now, in light of the situation countywide, I think this was the decision that we had to make. So we’re going to cooperate and try to help tamp this thing down countywide.”

Paton-Churdan Superintendent Kreg Lensch tells Raccoon Valley Radio they will continue to have in-person learning at this time. He says the District didn’t meet the criteria to apply for the waiver and there are few positive cases in the school. Lensch adds that due to the number of quarantined students resulting from COVID-19 exposure outside of the school, he didn’t think virtual learning would change that situation.