Jim Thorpe School District continues to prepare to resume in-person classes and online learning.

To date, the district has spent $200,000 of the $600,000 it has been allotted through the CARES funding.

During the school board’s policy and personnel meeting Wednesday night, the board discussed its in-house cyber school program, Olympian Learning Connection, and possibly relaxing the dress code for returning students.

The cyber school is set up for parents who are not ready for their child to resume in-person classes. Students would use the iPad or MacBook Air provided as part of the district’s 1-to-1 learning initiative.

The district has ordered cameras which would stream the classroom lessons to students at home taking part in the online learning program. Because the online lessons are on the same schedule as in-person classes, students could move from online to in-school instruction as needed.

In a recent survey, 20 percent of district parents said they favored returning to full online instruction. And the survey indicated that parents preferred that classes take place on the normal school day schedule, rather than having online students complete courses at their own pace.

Superintendent John Rushefski said the teachers and administration have been hard at work to improve upon the online learning program from the spring.

“I really think we’ll be failing our students and the district at large if we don’t put out a good product. That’s something our admin team and teachers are serious about implementing,” Rushefski said.

The online learning program will depend largely on technology which the district has ordered, but not yet received. The Swivl uses a smartphone or tablet to stream video from the classroom to students participating in online learning.

With many districts purchasing those devices, they are back-ordered, but the district is scheduled to receive its devices a week before school starts.

The district is hoping to retain parents who are considering a cyber charter school. If a student decides to attend cyber charter school, their tuition comes from their home school district’s state funding. A single high school student enrolling in cyber school costs the district $9,200; an elementary student $14,000; and a special education student, more than $20,000, Rushefski said.

“We can’t afford to lose that amount of money per student per year. I’m glad to hear we’ll have something in place for the start of school,” said school board member Paul Montemuro.

Meanwhile, it’s likely that students who return to in-person classes will not have to wear the khakis and polos, which traditionally make up the school uniform.

High School Principal Tom Lesisko said he plans to use a modified dress code which is usually reserved for dress down days. There would be restrictions on things like holes in jeans and messages on T-shirts.

The district plans to provide teachers with recommendations on how to shop for the return to school.

The policy and personnel committee also discussed recommendations for additional staff from the district’s health and safety plan.

The district is hoping to utilize its recently signed partnership with Lehigh Valley Health Network to obtain nursing assistants to oversee the daily screening procedures outlined in the safety plan.

The safety plan also calls for a designated custodian in each school building to handle extra cleaning. The district has purchased three misting machines and has ordered 10 more.

The facilities department currently has 21 full-time custodians, and has asked to fill two vacant positions, as well as add three new custodians to handle COVID cleaning.

The district is also considering adding long-term substitutes in each building because it’s anticipated that they will be in high demand during the upcoming school year.

Board member Scott Pompa, chairman of the personnel committee, said he is not in favor of creating new full-time positions because it will be an added cost for the district and its taxpayers. He pointed out that other districts aren’t looking at adding full-time positions in their safety plans.

“We have some heavy financial challenges ahead of us. Many members of the community are out of work. They may not be able to pay their taxes. The state is talking about a major hit in their budget, and this is all the stuff we need the board to be considering,” Pompa said.