Parent Says Oconee School Board Not Responding To Her Requests

Andrea Wellnitz is persistent.

“I’m coming before you today for the fourth time to bring my concerns to you,” Wellnitz said as she began her comments as a registered speaker to the Board of Education at its final meeting of last year.

Wellnitz said she had a number of concerns and had made a number of requests, including that the Board, Superintendent Jason Branch, or other administrators tell her what the “threshold” is for deciding to move from in-person instruction to hybrid instruction or full remote learning in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases.

“So far, none of you has responded to this request,” Wellnitz said.

Board Chair Tom Odom thanked Wellnitz for her comments at that meeting and immediately moved on to other business. No Board member objected.

On Jan. 1, Wellnitz tried once again to get a response from the Board.

She sent an email to the Board, to Branch, and to other school administrators, and she copied it to state officials in the Department of Public Health and the office of the state Superintendent of Schools, and the state Department of Education.

As of Monday, she says she has gotten no response,

Wellnitz is not alone in writing to school administrators and Board of Education members about their concerns with the start of classes on Tuesday and state data showing a rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases in the county, high positivity rates for tests, and strains at area hospitals.

The Board is scheduled to hold its work session at 6 p.m. today, but the Board only allows citizen input at regular meetings, with the next scheduled for Jan. 11.

At 10 a.m. on Monday, Oconee County Schools reopened the distance learning window until 10 a.m. on Friday to allow parents to modify the learning model selection for their children. Parents can select in-person or distance learning models.

For more on the story, plus a video of the December meeting of the Board of Education, please go to Oconee County Observations.