Greenwood School Board opens fitness center to emergency volunteers; discusses snow days
As a way to say 'thank you' to community members who volunteer as first responders, EMTs and firefighters, the Greenwood School Board approved a proposal to give members of the Greenwood EMS and fire department the ability to use the school's fitness center for free.
The board listened to the proposal made by District Administrator Joe Green and passed the measure at its Feb. 23 meeting. The proposal, which was originally made to include just Greenwood volunteers, was expanded upon by the board to include volunteer first responders, EMTs and firefighters who live within the boundaries of the Greenwood School District but volunteer for a neighboring emergency crew.
'We want to do this as a goodwill gesture and a thanks for all that they (the EMTS, first responders and firefi ghters) do for our community,' said Green. The board also listened to several other items during its meeting. Green gave an update on the amount of school snow days for the year and asked the board to consider ways to potentially make up lost time before the end of the school year. As of the meeting, Greenwood had seven snow days. Its eighth snow day occurred Feb. 27.
'We're close to a point of adding time if there's more days lost,' said Green.
Green suggested a few upcoming dates on the school calendar to use for school make-up days, including April 6, May 31 (in which case, the final day of school would be changed to a full day) and June 1-2, but no action was taken by the board on the matter at the meeting. The board asked Green about the usage of virtual days on days off after this, as they had received calls from several parents asking why those resources hadn't been used on some of the snow days. Infrastructure and difficulty in making sure students were learning for a full virtual day were a few of the reasons given by Green for not going virtual, and a letter was to be sent to parents to explain the district's procedure going forward.
'With virtual learning days, there's not a lot of learning,' he said. 'It's not the same as when a student is sitting in front of a teacher for eight hours. Are the kids actually sitting in front of a computer for eight hours to learn? We want more for our kids than that.'
The board also received an update on ongoing and future projects the district is completing using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. The district has so far spent $415,000 on school roof repairs and $15,000 on heating and cooling using ESSER funds. The board approved a further $36,000 to be used to replace the bleachers in the middle school gym and some funds to pay off current loans the district has. The ESSER funds must be spent by the end of 2024, and the board set the goal of having the money spent by the summer of 2024.
