A reopening plan is expected from the Fayette County School Board next week, but Superintendent Manny Caulk and health officials are cautioning parents that nothing is in stone.
While a task force has been sorting through the various options for Fayette County Public Schools for months, Caulk says whatever is presented next week will still be subject to change as officials monitor the directions coronavirus data are trending.
If schools do opt for in-person instruction, Dr. Emily Messerli with the University of Kentucky says the hope is that contact tracing can allow for more targeted closures of classes or grade levels rather than entire school systems in the event of an outbreak.
"There is no exact science for when we decide to close a school, but it is definitely a combination of communication between a principal, the local health department, and the contact tracers to see if they are seeing a trend in either your county or your school," she told an online superintendent panel earlier this month.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that, as of Monday, three of the five Fayette school board members were skeptical schools could safely invite students back into the classroom.
COVID cases have been on the rise in the county, with the region seeing its second highest one-day total on Thursday.
