Missouri education director signals major changes coming in schools under COVID-19

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The state's head of elementary and secondary education braced Missourians on Thursday for a return to school that will look much different than in the past under COVID-19.

Reopening schools is key to both the economy and the health of Missourians, Margie Vandeven, director of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said during Gov. Mike Parson's briefing in the Capitol.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below.

"We know that schools being open are an important part of our economic recovery," Vandeven said. "Parents who work outside the home and are unable to work remotely are left with limited child care options and are often forced not to work."

Among the changes families and educators can expect are new social distancing requirements. The state is setting guidelines but the exact procedures are expected to be set at the local level.

However, Vandeven said most parents and educators want to get back to the classroom in August.

Among other changes, Vandeven said schools will start to encourage employees and students to stay home any time they feel sick. This includes getting rid of incentives for perfect attendance, she said.

Attendance will also be waived as an accountability measure for school districts in the coming school year, Vandeven said.

Districts will also stress to educators and students the importance of hygiene, social distancing and, where applicable, wearing masks, Vandeven said.

Columbia Public Schools unveiled a plan this week that will not require masks for teachers or students.

A group of veteran teachers is working on a tutorial about teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic that educators across the state can use, Vandeven said.

Vandeven said the pandemic has highlighted the problem of the digital divide, in which rural and low-income students have less access to high-speed internet. A task force has been formed to address that problem, she said.

Revenue drop hits MoDOT

The Missouri Department of Transportation has slowed discretionary spending and hiring as it tries to offset a plunge in revenue because of the pandemic, MoDOT director Patrick McKenna said during the briefing.

Revenue from taxes dedicated to roads is down $45 million through March, McKenna said, and the state has delayed $360 million worth of projects. Most of the money for those projects comes from federal sources, McKenna said.

April and May totals have not been calculated, he said.

However, MoDOT continues to work on several projects, many of them funded before the pandemic, McKenna said. Right now more than 400 projects are underway statewide, he said.

The state has also seen an increase of traffic deaths, with 402 for the year. That is up 43 percent from this time last year, McKenna said.

Reporting delays contribute to record increase

A delay in reporting by the major testing laboratory Quest Diagnostics contributed to a record increase in cases Thursday.

Dr. Randall Williams, head of the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, said at the briefing that about 13,000 tests were delayed. Quest did not report tests from Sunday through Wednesday until Thursday.

The positive cases helped set a daily record increase Thursday of 553 new cases. Thursday's increase would have been 393 without the Quest cases, which is higher than the average of 359 for the past seven days.

The increase is 100 more than the previous record on Tuesday. It was the fourth record set in the past week.

On Thursday, health officials said coronavirus cases rose to 19,421.

The average for the past seven days is the highest of the pandemic. The average for May 1-May 7, during which a state stay-at-home order ended, was about 254.

Parson reiterated Thursday that the increase can be attributed to regional outbreaks and more testing.

"While certain areas may experience outbreaks, this does not mean there has been a second wave," Parson said. "We are now able to aggressively test in these areas and box in the virus."

"Missouri is recovering, and we are moving forward," Parson said.

Williams said the average for positive tests over the last seven days is about 4 percent. However, he said the novel coronavirus is still a problem, with the state continuing to send the antiviral drug remdesivir to hospitals.

Some of those doses went to Boone County, Williams said.