Port Townsend School Board considers in-person meetings

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Now that the county has entered into Phase III of Washington state’s COVID-19 reopening plan, Port Townsend School District board members are talking about restarting meetings in public.

Public agencies, such as school boards, can now add an in-person component to their public meetings as long as occupancy is limited to 50 percent and safety regulations are abided.

In a recent board meeting via Zoom, several options and timelines were discussed.

Blue Heron Middle School’s gymnasium was a recommended meeting location as it is a venue large enough that capacity wouldn’t be an issue.

There is no overflow room in the district office building to house meetings currently, said Superintendent Sandra Gessner-Crabtree.

Attendees would be staggered throughout the meeting area. Proper face masks and physical distancing would be required. Sanitization of high-touch surfaces would be frequent.

As in-person meetings resume, the school board will maintain a virtual meeting option, potentially using a staff-monitored camera during assembly. Board members will have the option of whether or not they want to attend meetings in-person right away.

Organizers will need time to figure out the logistics and to perform trial runs with the technology to make the hybrid meetings possible.

The school board is aiming for its first meeting in May to gather in-person together again.