The first day of classes in Port Washington have been pushed back to Tuesday, Sept. 8 from Thursday, Sept. 3 after a non-teaching staff member testing positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Michael Hynes said in a letter to the community.
Hynes said the two-day delay was needed to give more time to prepare the staff for COVID-19 protocols. Schools were already scheduled to be closed Monday, Sept. 7 in observance of Labor Day.
“To ensure we have the proper time to orient our District staff to new protocols and procedures, including safety protocols, schedules, roles and responsibilities, assignments, and IT infrastructure, to name a few, we have decided to delay the opening of schools for students to Tuesday, Sept. 8,” Hynes wrote. “This will give us two additional days—Thursday, Sept. 3 and Friday, Sept. 4—for professional development and building preparation for the return of our students.”
Another letter written by Hynes and sent out Tuesday says that on Aug. 16, the district was informed that one of its non-teaching staff members had tested positive for COVID-19.
“We immediately contacted the Nassau County Department of Health (NCDOH) to commence the contact tracing protocol,” Hynes wrote. “As required by the protocol, the District also provided the NCDOH with the names of those district staff members this individual may have had contact with. We were informed [Monday, Aug. 17] by the NCDOH that all District personnel contacted tested negative.”
The individual, who was not identified by name or position, will remain under home quarantine for the required two weeks and will be permitted to return to work only after the district receives medical clearance from a physician and documentation of negative testing at the conclusion of the two-week quarantine.
Hynes added that the NCDOH indicated it was not necessary for the district to take any further action.
“However, we have promised the community we will be totally transparent about all instances of either a student, teacher or district staff member testing positive for COVID-19 and what the follow-up actions will be,” Hynes wrote. “In line with this commitment, we are informing the community of this situation.”
The superintendent noted that the community was only three weeks away from the start of the new school year, and wrote that he wished the community had been provided “as much joy and personal rejuvenation” as possible “given the unusual circumstances we are all living in today.”
“While ever cautious, we are excited about the opening of school and welcoming your children back into our classrooms,” Hynes wrote.