School Board Chair: COVID-19 Will Not Alter Need For Schools

Students in a traditional classroom setting….will COVID-19 change that?

Several Putnam County Commissioners questioned that last Monday as they began discussions of the county budget. Will the county need a new school with COVID-19 changing the education model, they asked.

School Board Chairperson Dawn Fry said projects could be postponed from a lack of funds, not from a lack of students in the classroom.

“If our county continues to grow, which I anticipate that it will, then yes we are still going to need school buildings,” Fry said. “I do not foresee that we will have so many students not wanting to return to school that it would eliminate the need for a building. I can’t imagine that being the case.”

Fry said school attendance is important for students to learn. She said one-on-one interaction with a student and teacher is an absolute must for effective education.

The school board and county commissioners generally meet together during the budget process to discuss the vision for the future. That has not happened so far this year because of COVID-19. Fry said the relationship between the school board and county commissioners has grown.

“When we have needs in the school system, we want to be able to communicate to our county commissioners why we need that and why that’s important,” Fry said. “They may not understand completely the situation that we’re trying to put more funds into. It’s very important for use to keep that communication open, and if they have questions we can answer those for them.”

Fry said she and the school board are looking forward to getting the next school year started safely.