Face to face or virtual, Lehighton Area School District is intent on having a plan for every possibility when education starts up again later this year.

During a finance committee meeting Monday night, Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said multiple plans are being developed that would see students back in school full time, or on a hybrid schedule mixing in-person classes and virtual instruction.

“With the most recent order that came out, we can bring back students full time every day, but it would require to them to wear a mask the majority of the day,” Cleaver said. “We had only planned on having them wear face coverings during transition times, but now we’re being asked by the state Department of Health to have them wearing masks unless they are 6 feet or more apart while eating, in the classroom or in any other activity.”

Running a full schedule with all students on site would mean the district would have desks 5 feet apart from left to right, and 4 feet apart from front to back, meaning that 6-foot mask threshold would not be met.

“If we were to space the desks 6 feet apart, we would have to go to a hybrid model where not everyone would be in the buildings each day,” Cleaver said. “It may be every other day or however it ends up playing out.”

Cleaver said the district is also working on a cafeteria plan should all students be in the buildings every day.

“Students obviously can’t wear masks while eating so we would have to space 6 feet apart, meaning they couldn’t all be eating in the cafeteria,” he said. “Some students may be there, but some may be eating in other locations. That cafeteria plan is something we’re still working on.”

Despite the regulations, Cleaver said the overwhelming majority of families responding to district surveys have indicated they want the traditional on-site face-to-face instruction for their children.

“It’s not just us, it’s that way in about every district you talk to,” Cleaver said. “I can’t say that is very surprising.”

The district is on take two when it comes to its planned starting and ending times for students. It had originally proposed a schedule where secondary students would start after elementary students, but that has now been reversed.

“We were informed we still have to meet the 990 hours instructional time requirement for secondary and 900 hours requirement for elementary,” Cleaver said.

Part of Lehighton’s return to school plan is being ready should the state decide to shut down in-person education again after the year has started. If that happens, Cleaver said, students would likely be logging on from home and watching their teacher do the lesson in the classroom just as if they were there in person.

“We need to be ready if it shuts down on a Friday afternoon, that Monday morning we can pick up with remote instruction and vice versa,” he said. A return to school will mean increased costs for things like personal protective equipment and cleaning products.

Cleaver said the district is applying for grants to help offset that expense.

“Anything we are eligible for we are applying for, including federal grants through the county,” he said.

A district survey sent out Friday is asking parents if their student would use transportation this year if offered by the district given the COVID-19 restrictions of wearing a mask, assigned seating, possible extended bus routes, etc. The surveys are due back to the district by this Friday.

“Once we have that data, we can bring a plan to the board on what transportation might look like,” Cleaver said.

There was no nonmandated transportation included in Lehighton’s 2020-21 budget, and Cleaver said if busing does happen this year, the district would have to look at things like line item transfers or any other possible additional revenue to pay for it.

“We are trying to find money for transportation,” Director Rita Spinelli said during Monday’s meeting. “That is what the public wants us to do and that is what we are trying to do.”