WCPS denies decision has been made after assistant superintendent says “we’re going to do Plan B.”

A Wayne County Public Schools spokesman is denying a report by a local media organization Saturday that the district has already chosen and is moving forward with Plan B — the state’s hybrid back-to-school model.

Ken Derksen said this morning that district officials and the school board have not chosen a reopening plan and are still reviewing the feedback they have asked for — and are still receiving — from the community.

A report in The Goldsboro News-Argus, however, quotes Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Tamara Berman-Ishee saying, “Right now, we are going with Plan B.” She then justifies the decision and details WCPS’ Plan B strategy.

Her comments came less than 24 hours after the district published draft proposals for Plan B and Plan C school reopening plans and invited “families, staff and the public” to “review and share feedback.”

Berman-Ishee’s comments are in direct contrast to Interim Superintendent Dr. James Merrill’s news release at 9:58 p.m. Thursday indicating that the district is waiting for community feedback before making its final decision.

“This phase of public review is a critical part of our planning process,” Merrill said in the release.

“At this time, no one plan has been approved by the Wayne County Board of Education,” the release continued.

But Berman-Ishee told the newspaper the decision had been made.

She went on to say that part of what made Plan B a viable option was Cooper’s removal of the 50 percent occupancy requirement and its replacement with social distancing measures. Berman-Ishee said that change would allow for more students in schools and added that families still had the option to go with remote learning on a case-by-case basis.

Here is what we know:

• Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that students could return to school in the fall under Plan B, but that individual districts could choose remote learning, or Plan C, instead. He also mandated that districts offer remote learning to any student who did not feel comfortable returning to campus.

• Shortly after Cooper’s announcement, the New Old North requested interviews with Merrill and Berman-Ishee to discuss what Plan B would look like locally. To date, those requests have not been fulfilled. The district acknowledged the interview request, but said that no decision had been made to go with Plan B.

• The district has sent out various surveys to educators, staff, parents and other stakeholders, but several WCPS employees told the New Old North they feared answering honestly could jeopardize their jobs, as the survey was linked to their WCPS email accounts.

• Thursday at 9:58 p.m., the district published a news release notifying the public that draft proposals for Plan B and Plan C had been uploaded to the WCPS website. In that release, Merrill said feedback from the community was a “critical part” of the district’s planning process as it worked to determine which reopening plan was in the best interest of students and staff.

• Friday, the New Old North offered teachers and staff who could verify their status as WCPS employees to speak confidentially about which plan, B or C, they believe the district should go with. To date, more than 100 WCPS teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and even a member of the Central Office administrative staff shared concerns about sending students and teachers back into school facilities. The same day, a report prepared for the White House coronavirus task force identified 18 states, including North Carolina, that were in the virus’ “red zone” and recommended those states roll back reopening measures. Less than a dozen WCPS teachers/staff said they were comfortable returning under Plan B. (The teachers’ thoughts will be published later this weekend, as we continue to receive feedback. The deadline for WCPS staff to submit their thoughts via the New Old North Facebook page “messenger” is Saturday at 11 p.m.)

• The New Old North spoke with Wayne County Association of Educators president Tiffany Kilgore Thursday evening. She said she was working with the district to make sure the district’s personnel and teachers are being heard, and that their input was being sought and considered as the decision-making process continues. She indicated that she had been told that no decision has been made. She also said she met with two board members who indicated that the board wanted to work with the teachers. (The complete interview with Kilgore will appear with the results of our teachers’ survey.)

• Saturday morning, after Berman-Ishee’s interview published, Derksen, the district’s public information officer, said he was not aware of the interview and had just seen the headline. He confirmed that WCPS has not yet chosen Plan B. When asked why the New Old North’s interview requests with Berman-Ishee and Merrill had not been granted, he said he did not know, but reiterated that the requests have been passed along.

The New Old North offered Saturday to speak with Merrill and Berman-Ishee immediately, or before the board meeting, to discuss the news report and the district’s position on the reopening and the role community/staff feedback will play.

The Board of Education is set to meet Monday at 11 a.m. A “school reopening update” and the “non-traditional academic calendar” are both on the agenda. Members of the Wayne County Association of Educators plan on attending the meeting and are asking teachers to attend and wear red as a show of solidarity — and to bring lawn chairs and gather in the parking lot to ensure proper social distancing measures can be taken.

The Board of Education is currently following strict social distancing measures in its board meetings — not allowing members of the community to sit in the board room during the meeting, enforcing a line that media and visitors cannot cross and assigning news professionals to plexiglass booths as they cover the meetings.

Visitors are, however, allowed to sign up to speak at the meeting and are invited in during the designated public comment period. They can also sit outside the board room and watch a live feed.