Superintendent Ben Halsey issued an update on COVID-19 cases in the district as part of the Pioneer Board of Education meeting on Oct. 5.
Mr. Halsey said the state Department of Health has restarted its daily COVID-19 report card, listing the cases among staff and students, and refreshed each weekday.
Mr. Halsey said there have been 48 positive cases reported in the first month of school. "Is the number higher than I thought it would be? Absolutely. Do I still think we're doing the right thing? Absolutely, because there are still 2600 students coming to school every day as well as hundreds of staff, trying to give students as normal an experience under the circumstances."
He reported 37 positive cases among students, and 11 among staff.
"We have had some positivity; however, all the positive cases have been in isolation of one another or within a family, with no indication of wide-scale spread," he added.
"Our nurses are doing a tremendous job, working with teachers and parents. Parents are getting children tested, cooperating with the quarantine measures, and getting the child back to class," Mr. Halsey said.
He added the number of students who have been impacted by each quarantine is significantly lower this year because of improved contact tracing. There have also been fewer pauses among Panther athletic teams.
"It's clear that [COVID] is still something we need to deal with as a district, but hopefully it's something we're getting better at, as we continue to follow the measures we opened the school year with," Mr. Halsey said.