Pandemic procedures pester Milton

The Milton Area High School put COVID-19 safety measures in place just a few weeks after the start of the year, along with the ever-changing mask mandate.

As of November, class dismissal times at the end of the day are staggered, students are to eat their lunch in the cafeteria or Lit Café as assigned by class, and they must go right to class at the beginning of the day rather than congregating in the cafeteria. Teachers are also encouraged to spread out their desks as much as possible.

Milton High School Co-Principal Andrew Rantz said that the Oct. 7-8 closure of the school, along with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, led administration to put these restrictions in place. The October closure, which only affected freshman and sophomores, was the second of the 2021-22 school year.

“It was decided amongst the district as a whole that we need to show that we’re doing something to reduce our numbers,” said Mr. Rantz.

According to Mr. Rantz, the people involved in making the decision to reimplement the restrictions were all the principals of the district and all of the district administrators, as well as Director of Student Services Ms. Catherine Girton, who also serves as the school safety and security coordinator as well as the pandemic coordinator.

The district receives information from federal, state, and local health agencies with information on infectious disease, according to Ms. Girton. She said she monitors local data, including transmission and spread rate, positive cases and vaccination rates to determine the impact of the virus on Northumberland County.

Ms. Girton added that she monitors each building for the number of students and employees who have positive cases of COVID-19, presumed positive and those who are in quarantine. Seeing the data led them to the decision to make changes to decrease the spread, she said.

“It was really just going back to the well of the things we had in place last year and kind of ‘cherry-picking’ some of the ones that were easy to institute, and we think would make an impact, and … disrupt (the) day as little as possible,” said Mr. Rantz.

At the start of the 2021-22 school year, there were no restrictions on students regarding COVID-19. According to Mr. Rantz, this was due to the fact that a health and safety plan was not required by the state of Pennsylvania like it was in the previous year, and there was no state mask mandate. He added he has no idea how long the current COVID-19 restrictions will be active.

“I would say when you see these things (masks) go away again, and I hope and pray they do, that’s when you see the other stuff go away,” he said.

Ms. Girton added that she would be guessing, or possibly hoping, if she were to say how long COVID-19 restrictions will be active.
“We will continue to monitor the data and make adjustments,” she said.

Ms. Girton said that at the beginning of the year, she anticipated the return of COVID-19 restrictions. She added that the Delta variant was very concerning as well as the lack of availability of vaccines to children.

Mr. Rantz said that the school has not even come close to closing down since the latest safety restrictions have been put in place. According to Mr. Rantz, there are different thresholds a school has to meet to determine whether or not the building will close, and the school has not come close to meeting any of those thresholds since the October closure.

There are no plans to strengthen any of the current restrictions at the high school. Mr. Rantz said that he has “no clue” whether there is a chance the restrictions will carry on into the 2022-23 school year.

“Looking at the data, the fact that we haven’t even come close to closing since that second closure and since we put (the measures) back in place, I think that’s the argument in itself for whatever we’re doing… I don’t think it would make a case for doing anything more,” he said.

Mr. Rantz added that if Milton were to start seeing the data on cases climb back up again, there would most likely be a conversation regarding other measures that could be taken. He said that he does not think that they could wait like they did at the beginning of the school year without actively trying to do something to do something to prevent a shutdown.

Ms. Girton said that regarding pandemic procedures, this year has been more challenging than the previous year. This was due to the fact that there was a much higher number of sick students this year, and the return of the masking mandate from the Pa. Department of Health upset many people in the community, she added.

Ms. Girton explained that the COVID-19 reporting process to the Pa. Department of Health had changed multiple times, as well as the quarantine process and requirements. She added that procedures change based on masking or not masking, vaccinated or not vaccinated, if the student was in school or on school transportation, as well as if they had a history of having the virus or not. According to Ms. Girton, these factors made this year difficult compared to last year when they did not have to take those factors into consideration.

Baugher Elementary School Nurse Ms. Jennifer Zeigler said as of November 21, 2021, the district has seen approximately 185 positive COVID-19 cases. She added at the same point in the previous school year, there were only 15 positive cases.

“When school started last year, there were many unknowns with how the year would go, as close contact tracing, quarantining, social distancing and wearing masks were things we never had to worry about before,” she said. “With the start of this school year, there was a sense of familiarity with contact tracing and quarantining, but it also came with a new challenge of a rise in COVID cases.”

Mr. Rantz said that he does not personally see any situation where the state would re-instate restrictions on schools to the extent of the last year. According to Mr. Rantz, the school has seen the flow of cases across the state rise and fall, and there have been no talks of reinstating a health and safety plan requirement. He added that from a local perspective, anything is possible.

Mr. Rantz said that he wants Milton students to be in school, and be in class with their teachers. According to Mr. Rantz, the “traditional high-school experience” allows students to see their friends, have clubs, and attend dances, musicals and concerts.

“I want everybody in school,” said Mr. Rantz. “I don’t want virtual: I do not think that virtual is good for our kids. I think there are very few kids who truly thrive in that environment.”