Putnam Will Not Check Temps On School Buses

Putnam County Schools will not check temperatures of students boarding school buses.

Deputy Director of Schools Tim Martin said regardless of a student’s temperature, once they are left at a bus stop, the county is responsible for their safety.

“The fact of the matter is,” Martin said, “If parents leave their kids at a bus stop, we can’t refuse to take them. We have to transport them. So, even if their temperature was high, I couldn’t send them back off the bus.”

Martin also said the only efficient way to check temperatures is with no-touch thermometers. He said those tend to not be accurate for people who have been outside in hot weather.

“The only quick way you can check temperatures is with the no-touch thermometers,” Martin said. “They have a pretty high degree of inaccuracy when kids have been standing outside and if kids are sweating and things like that. So, when you’re trying to take temperatures outside, you can get a lot of false-high readings.”

Martin did say that students will be required to wear masks on the bus and that temperatures will be checked once students get to their school. He said school officials have received no guidance from the state on how to handle bus riders.

“The only thing we’ve gotten is the CDC recommendation that we put one student per seat and skip every other seat,” Martin said. “But, honestly, there’s no way that we can run buses and pick up the kids that need to be picked up by doing that.”

Martin said each school has a process in place for any student found to have a elevated temperature as they reach their classroom.

“We’re not going to take it at the school entrance, but we will keep kids socially distanced as they get into the building,” Martin said. “Then, when they get to their classroom, their temperature will be taken. That will be done with a no-touch thermometer there, and then if any kid is high, they will be sent to the nurse to verify that before we contact the parent.”

Putnam County students return to school July 30 for an abbreviated day. The first full day of school is August 3.