State agencies are advising that schools in York County should reconsider opening fully for in-person classes this fall due to an elevated risk of the spread of COVID-19 after several recent outbreaks.
The county had been given a "green" classification by the state Department of Education in recent weeks. But state agencies say they've reclassified the county as "yellow" because of increasing daily case rates, a positivity rate three times higher than the state average, and five new outbreaks over the last two weeks.
"A number of new cases in York County are not readily traced to known outbreaks, suggesting increasing community transmission," the Maine Department of Education said in its release.
The new classification means that the state is advising the county's schools to consider opening under a "hybrid model," or adding additional precautions in order to limit the number of students in classrooms. Those could include suspending extracurricular activities and competitions between schools, or putting students in separate cohorts to limit interactions. Many districts have already planned to start the year with hybrid models.
In messages to parents on Friday, several school officials, including those in Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach, said the new classification would have minimal impact on their districts, which were already planning to re-open under a "yellow" designation using a hybrid learning model.
In an email, Kittery Superintendent Eric Waddell says that the same is true in his district, which was already planning to begin under its hybrid "yellow" plan on September 8th, with students only attending in-person classes on half of school days.
"I felt it was a prudent move, given our proximity to New Hampshire, the beaches/tourist areas, and I-95, as well as the level of concern of our families and employees," he says. However, Waddell adds that the decision could lead the district to reconsider potential athletic events.
"It would be very difficult for me to support interscholastic competition, even between neighboring schools, under a County yellow status. Other than that, we were prepared to take every precaution possible from day one," Waddell says.
RSU 57 Superintendent Larry Malone said in an email that the "change to Yellow does not change the plan or opening schedule in RSU 57," but did not elaborate further.
The other 15 counties in the state remain in the "green" classification, meaning they can consider opening fully to in-person instruction, if they follow state guidelines.
Updated at 4:53 p.m. September 4, 2020.
