Millburn Schools Superintendent Lists Parents' Questions, Answers

MILLBURN, NJ — On Friday evening, Millburn Superintendent of Schools Christine Burton sent an email with updates about school reopening amid coronavirus precautions. The updates included a link to parents' questions that were asked at an Aug. 10 school board meeting, with answers.

Questions range from "What happens if a child has coronavirus?" to "Will school still open Sept. 8?" (As of now, schools will still open Sept. 8, but a final determination is coming, Burton said.) Read the questions and answers with this link.

Burton also asked parents to submit the final return to school survey to confirm whether they are choosing distance learning or the hybrid plan offered by the district (read more about it here). It's due Monday.

Burton noted that this past week. Gov. Phil Murphy announced "that public school districts can begin the school year via remote-only instruction if they cannot adequately meet critical health and safety protocols outlined in the state’s school reopening guidance, The Road Back."

In response, Burton said, "We will be opening in September with the confidence that our health and safety procedures will provide our students and staff with the best protocols and security that we can offer for the return to school."

There's a Return to School site for news and updates.

Millburn's response to new state rules

Burton advised parents with an interest in the safety recommendations to read this new state document: NJ DOH COVID Recommendations for Schools.pdf.

She reposted several of the key questions asked of the state, including, "Will staff and students be asked to have a COVID Test?" She said that Millburn will follow this NJ Department of Health recommendation: "Universal SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) testing of all students and staff in school settings has not been systematically studied. It is not known if testing in school settings provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus beyond what would be expected with implementation of other preventive measures (e.g., social distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, hand washing, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting). Therefore, CDC does not recommend universal testing of all asymptomatic students and staff."

Millburn parents whose kids are returning to the school buildings will be asked to submit a form each morning about their children's health. More guidance on the form is forthcoming, Burton said.

Burton is a member of a state planning group for education.

In several states, schools have already reopened their buildings, then closed after students tested positive for coronavirus. Read more: More Kids Getting Coronavirus As School Year Begins.

Local coronavirus statistics and trends

On Friday, Millburn Mayor Jackie Lieberberg released an update on local coronavirus statistics. Here are current numbers from the Friday update and others:

• There are currently 159 residents of Millburn Township who have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic.
• Six Millburn residents in total have passed away from the virus.
• The total of residents testing positive has climbed by only eight since a report over a month ago, on July 9, when there were 151 cases in town.
• "The confirmed cases in Millburn is cumulative and residents are not removed from this count once they recover," the mayor noted. "At times these numbers can change when contact tracing is complete and it is verified that a positive result should be counted in another community or county."

As of this past Thursday, 165,000 Americans had died of coronavirus, and more than 5 million have tested positive.

As of Sunday, 35 states remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days. Read more here.

In New Jersey on Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy said the number of coronavirus cases statewide has risen to 186,594, with 14,054 confirmed deaths. That included 699 new cases since the day before and eight newly confirmed deaths. However, that death rate has declined since back on April 30, when it reached a peak of 460 residents in 24 hours.

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