Lake-Lehman won’t stop in-person education unless state orders it

LEHMAN TWP. — Asked if the district is considering switching teaching modes with the surge of COVID-19 in Luzerne County, Lake-Lehman School District Superintendent James McGovern was unequivocal at Monday’s virtual School Board meeting.

“Our school game plan hasn’t changed and will not change unless we are mandated by the governor,” he said.

McGovern was reacting to a question sent in near the end of the meeting. Lake-Lehman is the only Luzerne County School District to open allowing all students who want to attend classes in-person do so five days a week.Others could attend classes online live or asynchronously through the district’s cyber charter courses.

Most other districts have being doing full-remote learning or using a hybrid system with one group of students in school while the other work live online, usually four days a week with everyone on line the fifth day.

And while other districts have recently switched to remote-only learning as the number of new COVID-19 cases increased rapidly in the past month, Lake-Lehman has remained as it started. McGovern said more than 72 percent of students have opted for in-person classes, and defended the districts strict system of quarantining anyone with symptoms or in close contact with a person who tested positive.

The increase in new cases started last month and has gone largely unabated so far county wide. It prompted the state to move Luzerne County from moderate risk of transmission to substantial risk, and the state recommends schools in a county classified as substantial consider moving to full-remote learning. But so far the state has left the decision to each school district.

Also near the end of the meeting, Business Consultant Tom Melone gave a quick update on the 2021-22 budget, noting the state has calculated the “Act 1 index” for districts next year. The index sets a maximum property tax increase for each district. A district can only exceed the index by getting voter approval or state approval for limited exceptions. If a district agrees to stay within the limit, Melone said, the board must approve a resolution saying so by Jan. 28.

Noting Lake-Lehman had no tax increase this year, Melone said Lake-Lehman’s index for next fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30, is 3.7%. Of Luzerne County’s 11 districts, only Crestwood has a lower limit at 3.5%. The highest limit in the county is 4.5% for Greater Nanticoke Area.