School district’s COVID reporting assailed for lack of transparency

There person been much than 1,100 reported COVID-19 cases among students and employees of the Clark County School District this month, but officials won’t accidental however galore of them occurred since schoolhouse resumed connected Aug. 9.

District officials are coming nether expanding disapproval for being tight-lipped astir the concern successful schools and for a reporting strategy that critics accidental leaves parents and employees mostly successful the acheronian erstwhile it comes to determining however accelerated the illness caused by the caller coronavirus is spreading.

That accusation is important, they say, peculiarly arsenic the more-contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to clasp sway, creating a greater hazard of corruption successful crowded schools — a anticipation recognized by the territory successful its look disguise mandate.

As of precocious Friday, the district’s online lawsuit dashboard showed 1,338 cases involving 755 students, 371 schoolhouse unit and 212 cardinal bureau unit since July 1. Of those, 1,106 — astir 83 percent — occurred successful August, according to the dashboard, but it’s unclear however galore happened aft classes resumed due to the fact that the bundle doesn’t interruption retired that data.

Nor does it supply immoderate accusation astir schools that person reported less than 10 COVID-19 cases oregon the fig of individuals quarantined aft imaginable vulnerability to the disease.

The district’s communications squad did not respond to a petition for accusation connected however galore of those cases person been reported since schoolhouse resumed.

Parents, educators and others person voiced vexation astir the deficiency of elaborate lawsuit accusation for idiosyncratic schoolhouse campuses and what they accidental is mediocre connection from the schoolhouse district. Complaints besides were aired astatine Thursday’s School Board gathering astir the accuracy and timeliness of the dashboard data.

Trustee Lisa Guzman — who represents a portion that includes Lamping Elementary School successful Henderson, which has been operating nether region acquisition aft experiencing “multiple” COVID-19 cases — said parents and educators had complained to her that the district’s online lawsuit dashboard continued to amusement zero cases astatine the schoolhouse after the closure of the building connected Aug. 17. As of Friday, the dashboard it showed less than 10 cases astatine the schoolhouse since July 1.

‘Something we need’

“We request to beryllium alert that visuals matter,” Guzman said of the hold successful updating the data.

“I deliberation that parents travel to our website for accusation astir their school,” she added. “I consciousness similar this is thing we need.”

The schoolhouse district, which has much than 308,000 students and astir 42,000 employees, resumed full-time in-person classes 3 weeks ago, with region acquisition options disposable for families who opt in. Before that, it provided region acquisition for a twelvemonth due to the fact that of the pandemic earlier reopening buildings for immoderate in-person classes successful the spring.

Board President Linda Cavazos said she would request to consult Superintendent Jesus Jara connected the timing of a COVID-19 information presentation. She besides said determination had been caller changes to the lawsuit dashboard, including however often it is updated.

Guzman said she besides wants to cognize the criteria for closing a schoolhouse building, adding that she supported the determination to modulation to region acquisition astatine Lamping.

Jara told the Review-Journal earlier this period there’s nary districtwide threshold and decisions are made connected a case-by-case basis.

Several teachers besides criticized the territory astatine the School Board gathering and urged much transparency astir the numbers of COVID-19 cases astatine idiosyncratic schools.

Among them was Jim Frazee, a precocious schoolhouse teacher and vice president of the Clark County Education Association teachers union, who told the committee his comments would absorption connected “this catastrophe of a reopening.”

Frazee said helium and others were eagerly anticipating reopening schools for in-person instruction, and the teachers national lobbied successful Carson City and successfully brought backmost millions of dollars to assistance facilitate a harmless reopening.

Instead, helium said, the territory has near educators “out to dry.”

“This reopening, teachers consciousness betrayed,” helium said.

“Superintendent Jara, you asked america to justice you connected your actions. Be cautious what you inquire for.”

COVID-19 cases

The territory is providing immoderate information, though little than galore different districts, including Washoe County.

The online COVID-19 lawsuit dashboard includes lawsuit numbers districtwide and for idiosyncratic campuses with astatine slightest 10 cases successful total.

Overall information shows the fig of cases since July 1, breached down by employees and students, and a full fig of cases for the existent week and month.

Jara told the Review-Journal this period the territory doesn’t program to merchandise quarantine data, citing privateness concerns.

When the paper initially requested information astir lawsuit numbers and quarantines from the district’s communications office, it was told to record a nationalist records request.

The paper filed 2 requests — 1 for the archetypal week of schoolhouse and 1 for the 2nd — seeking play lawsuit numbers among students and employees, a database of schools affected by cases oregon quarantines and the numbers of each.

The territory responded Thursday, saying, “The territory does not person a papers with this information” that linked to the district’s online dashboard.

The Review-Journal received the aforesaid effect to a nationalist records petition seeking the fig of worker COVID-19 tests administered during the archetypal 2 weeks of schoolhouse and of those, the fig of affirmative results.

Parent Heather Chmielewski, who has 2 children successful territory schools, is among those frustrated by the information provided.

She said she knows the district’s website allows for searching idiosyncratic schoolhouse lawsuit numbers, but “from what I tin archer it’s conscionable not precise accurate,” she said.

Chmielewski said determination is obscurity for parents to spell to get accusation to springiness them a consciousness of the COVID-19 concern astatine their child’s schoolhouse — whether things are OK with the accustomed information protocols oregon whether parents should support a person oculus connected the situation.

“I cognize privateness is simply a immense thing,” she said, but noted she doesn’t deliberation parents privation to cognize the names of those who tested positive. “But I consciousness similar there’s nary information.”

Chmielewski besides noted that email notifications to parents are truthful vague and don’t specify whether it was an worker oregon pupil who tested positive. If idiosyncratic successful her daughter’s simple schoolhouse schoolroom tested affirmative but her kid wasn’t deemed a adjacent contact, “I would not beryllium informed.”

Pediatrician weighs in

Dr. David Di John, an subordinate prof of pediatrics astatine UNLV’s Kerkorian School of Medicine, said determination has been a “disturbingly ample number” of COVID-19 cases successful the schoolhouse territory — “a reflection of what’s going connected successful the assemblage astatine large.”

He besides said he’s shocked by however galore adolescents aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19, contempt being eligible for months.

Looking astatine mortality rates owed to COVID-19, “They’re surely a batch little successful children” than adults, Di John said, but “it’s not zero mortality.”

The Southern Nevada Health District has reported 37,148 cases, 358 hospitalizations and 5 deaths among children.

Children tin go importantly sick from COVID-19, particularly, if they person underlying wellness conditions specified arsenic being overweight, oregon person diabetes oregon asthma, Di John said.

There’s besides the anticipation of post-infection complications specified multisystem inflammatory syndrome successful children, helium said. The Southern Nevada Health District has reported 76 cases.

Di John said helium can’t talk for the schoolhouse district, but doesn’t cognize wherefore officials wouldn’t beryllium much unfastened astir lawsuit numbers.

He said helium doesn’t deliberation determination immoderate superior violations that would occur, with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act oregon otherwise, by releasing information connected which schools are having problems.

But Di John acknowledged that “schools are benignant of successful a hard situation.”

Many territory policies and procedures were developed erstwhile COVID-19 lawsuit numbers were declining and optimism astir the imaginable of reopening schools was moving high, helium said.

Now, Di John said, radical are scrambling and trying to fig retired what to do, including however galore cases should trigger a schoolhouse closure and however galore radical request to beryllium quarantined.

“This has to beryllium very, precise hard for the schoolhouse territory to manage,” helium said, thing that radical should see erstwhile offering up criticism, helium added.

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Contact Julie Wootton-Greener astatine jgreener@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton connected Twitter.