Still no decision on graduation, but board could make call Friday

The Wayne County Board of Education could decide Friday if there will be a traditional graduation or if proposed Berkeley Mall ceremonies will be where the Class of 2020 will turn its tassels.

But first, board members want to hear what county seniors and their parents have to say about how they would like to celebrate graduation day.

The district announced the revised graduation plans at its May 18 regular meeting in response to concerns that restrictions on gatherings imposed by the state, as well as logistics associated with social distancing and masks, might affect the possibility of using the usual format of a stage in an auditorium or on a football field.

District communications and public relations officer Ken Derksen said seniors were asked to discuss their preferences for graduation with their families and to respond to a survey.

“We have already had a 37 percent return rate,” Derksen said.

He added that while the number is high, the rate is not the same for all schools.

“Some schools have higher percentages (of responses) than others,” he said.

Seniors have until 10 a.m. Friday to respond to the survey.

Board Chairman Chris West said getting those responses is important.

“If we are going to give people a voice, then we should listen,” West said.

Board member Len Henderson asked for a preliminary summary of the responses to-date, but stopped his questioning after a private comment from board attorney, Richard Schwartz.

Derksen said the district has not tallied the responses or worked up a spreadsheet, but assured the board that he could have results, including a breakdown of the responses by school, in time for the reconvened meeting Friday, which is set for 2:30 p.m.

The decision to recess the meeting was made to avoid the notification requirements and time constraints of a special-called meeting.

Schwartz advised the board that recently revised recommendations from the state allow larger gatherings, but suggest precautions — social distancing (although family groups and members were not required to separate from each other), masks, hand sanitizer, hand washing and staying at home if you are sick.

He said the board is within its rights to set its own rules for any graduation events.

West said the board will have to discuss how it might set up the ceremonies and how it will deal with those who choose to ignore the rules.

“We have to decide how we would handle the situation if someone refuses to wear a mask,” he said.

Sheriff Larry Pierce told the board last week that his deputies would be at ceremonies to “uphold the laws of North Carolina” — not to be “the social distancing police.”

The board invited the county’s high school principals to attend the meeting Wednesday to discuss their opinions on graduation.

But after a nearly four-hour executive session “to discuss personnel” and invoking attorney-client privilege as one of the reasons for the marathon private discussion, the board began its regular meeting with two main items on the agenda — the 2020-21 budget and graduation.

Because of the length of the executive session, the principals were allowed to return to their schools rather than wait to present to the board.

West said the principals, seven of whom came to the meeting, asked him to read a statement that he said was “the consensus of the group.”

The principals’ statement suggested that the county should make its graduation decision based on recommendations by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and state organizations such as the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Instruction and Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order.

“Secondly, whatever is decided should be with the utmost concern for the health and safety of our students, parents, staff and faculty, as well as the public in general,” the statement read.

Dr. James Stackhouse, a medical consultant with the Wayne County Health Department, told board members May 22 that COVID-19 remains a threat to local residents and recommended that the school district continue with the Berkeley Mall graduation plan.

There is, he said, too much risk associated with mass gatherings — particularly for the local elderly and immunocompromised populations.

“We’ve not conquered (COVID-19),” he said then. “Social isolation needs to continue in some form.”

The principals also asked that the decision be made by the board and uniform for all the high schools.

The principals made no recommendation on either a traditional ceremony or the proposed mall event.

No matter what the board decides, it needs to be done quickly, West said.

“This is really time-sensitive for us,” he said. “This decision has to be made yesterday.”

In other business, the board had no further discussion on the budget, after Superintendent Dr. Michael Dunsmore said he had additional information to present to the board about the budget and cuts and additions made in the last few years.

The board will review those documents and will continue its budget discussion.