July 21, 2020 Patron Presentation, Alief School Board Meeting

Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.

I have a few questions that I would like to ask and receive answers to.

Who is on the districts COVID-19 task force and what are their professional qualifications?

If a teacher tests positive for COVID-19 are they required to quarantine for 2-3 weeks? Is an exposed teacher, bus driver, or custodians quarantine time off going to be paid time off for them? Does the quarantine time count against their vacation time, sick time, or their state and local days?

If a COVID-19 exposed teacher has 5 classes a day with 30 students in each class, do all 150 of that teacher’s students need to stay home and quarantine for 14 days?

Do all 150 of those students have to get tested for COVID-19? Who will pay for those COVID-19 tests? Will Covid tests be conducted at their local school campuses? Will all district parents be notified, not just those in the presumed teacher’s classroom? Does everyone in each of those 150 students’ immediate families need to get tested? Who will pay for the test of those exposed students family members?

What if someone who lives in the same house as an Alief teacher tests positive for COVID-19? Will that teacher be required to take 14 days off from work to quarantine? Will the teachers time off be covered as paid time off? Does the quarantine time count against their vacation time, sick time, or their state and local days?

Where is Alief ISD planning to find substitute teachers who will work in a classroom full of exposed, possibly infected COVID-19 students for substitute pay?

Substitutes teach in multiple schools and districts, what if they are diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19? Do all of the kids in each school, classroom, and school district the substitute taught in have to quarantine and get tested? Who is going to pay for those COVID-19 test?

What if a student or teacher in the classroom of an Alief teachers own child’s class tests positive for COVID-19? If an Alief teachers own child tests positive for COVID-19, does every student and teacher that Alief employee has been around have to quarantine as well? Will all district parents and staff get significant details and timely notices beyond the generic message of students and staff “may have been exposed” emails, and YouTube videos all year long?

I have all of the same questions for all other district employees, such as custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, vendors, or contractors whom may become exposed to COVID-19.

In all of the district proposed plans you keep telling us the WHAT of your plan but no one has yet to tell us the HOW you plan on doing so. The District has been communicating using YouTube, but the public is not allowed to post questions or comments using the same platforms which you continue to try and communicate with us through.

How can you ask parents and staff to fill out the dstricts return to school surveys, and expect us to tell you what we want to do, as far as opening and returning to campuses, but you have not given a clear and concise plan for us to consider, and Alief’s academic school year begins in two weeks. You want parents, students, and employees to answer yes or no regarding coming back to district facilities before we know what the districts full plan is of HOW you intend to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19 risks and exposures.

What exactly is the COVID-19 resolution for the 2020-2021 academic school year, and when did the conversations for this resolution occur for the public to hear about the details of this proposed resolution?

What is the district planning on doing different this year from last year, and all of the previous school years based upon the results of the Risk Load Assessment and Dr. Roger Cleveland’s Equity Assessment Audit results which you all discussed during January 15, 2019, March 02, 2019, July 16, 2019, and February 15, 2020 school board meetings?

How many resignation stipends per Alief’s 2019-2020 District Improvement Plan were given out to teachers during the 2019-2020 academic school year for their early resignation submittals? How much was each educator paid individually for their resignation? How much in total were all of the educators paid for their cumulative early resignations submittals?

Why is the current superintendent contract not posted on the district’s website, and when can we expected it to be posted on the website?

Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.