RIVER FALLS – The River Falls School Board met Monday, Sept. 20, where they discussed future COVID-19 mitigation plans and policies regarding controversial issues being discussed in the future curriculum.

The meeting started with public comment addressing the board; all public comments made were in relation to masks in the schools, diversity in the school district and views on critical race theory.

Resident Mike Metro shared some of his personal experiences with racism in the community as a person of color.

“The experiences I have had as a person of color living in a predominantly white community have not always been amazing, and interestingly enough, when I share those experiences with folks, it’s is usually surprise and disappointment,” Metro said.

When speaking about his own experiences, he wanted to explain the different mindsets behind mundane day-to-day tasks that are different for people of color.

“It speaks to the thought of ‘if you don't see or experience something yourself then it must not be happening’…I’ve had people swerve at me while I’m running and now, I share my location with my wife in case I don’t come home. It sounds extreme but stranger things have happened… as a person of color you develop situational awareness at a young age,” he said.

To finish his point, he added that learning about diversity is not just about race; it is really an overall topic that covers several aspects of each individual's identity.

“When we talk about diversity and equity issues, it is about more than race, it relates to gender, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic circumstances, and so within this issue while we seem to be really focused on race right now, it impacts us all,” he said._ Many spoke in favor of considering more inclusion in the teachings of diversity and critical race theory. Other community members did speak out against teaching students about race and urged the board members to not include critical race theory in the curriculum.

Many spoke in favor of considering more inclusion in the teachings of diversity and critical race theory. Other community members spoke out against teaching students about race and urged the board members to not include critical race theory in the curriculum.

After public comment, Superintendent Jamie Benson presented data related to COVID-19 cases in the school district boundaries over the past few months.

“You can see an ebb and a flow in the numbers but certainly the numbers speak for themselves that they are much higher than they were in the months of June and July,” he said._ He also outlined the matrix being used for guidance in regards to COVID mitigation measures. The plan is designed so that administration can make decisions about mask recommendations and other mitigations so the school board does not have to constantly vote on mask mandates.

“My understanding is that the board didn’t have an interest in coming back weekly or bi-weekly or each month and having a vote on the debate over the masks, so the board assigned administration to come up with this matrix that we would use as our guidance,” Benson said.

A slideshow presented the following information: •On July 15, in the 16-county Twin Cities metro area (of which River Falls is a part), there were 16 COVID patients in ICU. As of Sept. 9, there were 117 COVID patients in ICU.

•Locally, hospitals and clinics are seeing an increase in respiratory illness across all age groups; however, it’s not all COVID. Inpatients and emergency room visits are increasing.

•Hospitals are challenged with optimal staffing. Their ability to transfer patients to metro hospitals continues to be challenging due to various staffing challenges limiting capacity at the metro sites.

•A dramatic increase in illness visits needing testing for COVID, flu and RSV has been noted. Doctors locally have been seeing children 18 and younger who are fairly ill.

Risk assessments that influence the matrix will include the district’s experiences with COVID, guidance from the science/medical community, consideration for all community members and regional hospitalization staffing capacity. These variables will be considered in the district’s decision- making as far as when to require masks.

River Falls School District currently has the lowest number of positive COVID cases per 100,000 people, which is the ratio used for comparison between districts. River Falls is also currently one of the only school districts that have mandated masks to be worn by students, staff and visitors, Benson said.

“We can all draw our own conclusions from what that data might be telling us,” he said. “It is an apples-to-apples comparison because of that equalizer.”__ As of Sept. 20, the regional school districts’ seven-day COVID cases (population is “equalized” per 100,000 population) were:

•Baldwin – 730

•New Richmond – 319

•Hudson 315 –

•St. Croix Central – 282

•Ellsworth – 268

•Prescott – 255

•River Falls – 241 The matrix was approved by the board and administration will use this guidance to make decisions about COVID mitigation going forward; the detailed plan is available for viewing on the district website.

EID Committee

Committee Chair Nate Wells gave an update on the Equity, Inclusivity and Diversity (EID) Committee, which included information about the committee’s current visions and goals and outline of what the committee will continue working on.

The values all outline different aspects of how the committee is continuously trying to improve and stay inclusive and welcoming. The main values of EID include staying student and community focused, civil discourse, being a welcoming host and keeping the focus on equity, inclusion and diversity.

“This committee is welcome to anyone in the community that wants to come, and so how do we welcome people with divergent views of each other in a way that creates a welcoming space?” Wells said.

Other business

The board also approved recommendations from the Educational Program Committee, outlining a requirement that students will have Academic Career Planning Portfolios starting with ninth and tenth grade students in the 2021-2022 school year. The goal of this new requirement is to help students prepare for post-secondary schooling options.

The board approved a first reading of a new policy being introduced regarding controversial issues being discussed in classes. This policy is being introduced to align more closely with work being done in the EID Committee.

The Educational Program Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4 in the District Office Conference room, 852 E. Division St. The next regular school board meeting is slated for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18.

Chart courtesy of Wisconsin Department of HealthThis chart shows the number of confirmed COVID cases in the River Falls School District boundary, which has a population of 24,000 people, by date. Graph courtesy of River Falls School District