Superintendent: Testing to double

Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent said last week required surveillance testing of COVID-19 of all school employees would double when classes resume next month after winter break.

Superintendent Aaron McKinney said during the school board’s regular meeting Dec. 14 more than 10% of district workers would take a new saliva test for coronavirus that promises results within 48 hours.

Some in-person classes were scheduled to resume Jan. 18 after the New Mexico Public Education Department extended the winter break for all public schools, fearing new outbreaks of COVID-19 after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

A total of 5% of school district employees around the state previously were required to take the test.

McKinney said the new saliva test is less invasive and uncomfortable than the common nasal swab. He said each employee who takes the test must be observed by a state Department of Health worker via Zoom videoconference to ensure they use and package the test correctly.

McKinney said Tucumcari would test about 15% of its employees instead of the minimum 10% because some tests have been lost during shipping. He said he would offer to take the test weekly to ensure a higher number.

On a somber note, McKinney also said Dianne Morrow, the district’s longtime receptionist and administrative assistant, died of COVID-19 complications on Dec. 11.

McKinney said in a follow-up telephone interview that Morrow had been ill with the virus for about a month. She had been employed at the district for 19 years and also handled the district’s insurance matters.

“She was a really sweet soul,” he said.

McKinney said a district custodian also was recovering from the virus after being weaned off a ventilator.

In other business during the meeting:

• High-school principal Nicole Bright-Lesly said preliminary data show 78% of the district’s high-schoolers were passing all their classes. She said that’s a salute to the support of the community for such high achievement during remote learning.

Many other school districts in New Mexico had reported up to 70% of its students failing at least one classes in remote learning.

Bright-Lesly said about 11 seniors were struggling with their classes but expressed optimism they all would graduate after credit-recovery efforts.

She said teachers next semester would attempt live instruction via videoconferencing one day a week.

Middle-school principal Lendall Borden said one teacher was testing an app that would allow faculty members to connect their personal cellphones to online classrooms. He said that would boost communication between teachers’ homes and school.

Elementary school principal Tonya Hodges expressed optimism about upcoming live-video instruction days, as younger students enjoy the interaction more.

Hodges also said the number of children who are not interacting online is “fewer and fewer.”

“I think, like a lot of schools, we’re getting back where we need to be,” she said.

District technologist Patrick Benavidez said he’s testing the upcoming live-video feeds with parents of middle and high-school students. He said Chromebooks issued by the district contain useful data, including internet speeds and how much a student is interacting.

Benavidez said the district likely will earn a grant to install Plateau internet service to 10 households containing a total of 17 students that lack such access.

Athletic director Wayne Ferguson said the New Mexico Activities Association has delayed all sports to at least February because of the pandemic. He said that would be the last time the schedule would be adjusted. After that, the NMAA would eliminate sports from its schedule.

He said NMAA Executive Director Sally Marquez requested a direct statement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on whether to cancel sports. She said the governor refused to make such a statement and said she wants student-athletes to play during the spring semester.