Basketball season rules set by board

Unlike some school board meetings in the state and the country where disagreements over COVID-19 health and safety requirements have become acrimonious, the Eastport School Committee debated mask wearing and pool testing requirements for the upcoming basketball season in a civil manner at its November 17 meeting. The main disagreement among board members, staff and parents was over whether to require players to participate in pool testing and whether admission of a limited number of spectators to the games would be only through advance ticket sales.
Principal Paul Theriault reviewed the recommendations that he's proposing for the high school basketball season that begins in December. Spectators will be allowed this year, but there will be a limit of 125 in the gym. He proposed advance ticket sales only, for both season passes and single-game tickets. Spectators will have to wear masks. Concessions will be sold, but eating and drinking will only be allowed in the lobby area, not inside the gym.
He proposed mandatory pool testing for players, which would help keep more players on the teams. AOS 77 Superintendent Ken Johnson noted that, with all players participating in pool testing, if one player tests positive for COVID-19 that player would have to quarantine but the rest of the team could continue to play. Parental permission is required for students to take part in pool testing. The superintendent said that Theriault's recommendations "allow the most kids to participate the most often."
Expressing concerns about the mandatory pool testing, board member Melissa Lawrence stated, "I'm against mandates, period." Theriault noted that people don't like to be told what to do, but he added, "I feel very strongly there's an advantage for the team to have pool testing." He observed, though, that pool testing has become political "because of the word 'mandate.'" Board member Cynthia Morse commented that if pool testing is not required and a number of players decide not to pool test then it would become "more of a problem for the team." Shead staff member Connie Knight commented that requiring pool testing might lead to some parents allowing their children to participate in basketball because of the safety measures being taken. "If there's no pool testing and one kid is positive, then they all have to quarantine because of close exposure," she pointed out.
Under the proposal, vaccinations are strongly encouraged but not mandatory, and Theriault said he would prefer mandatory mask wearing for players, coaches and referees. He noted that the Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending the wearing of masks, and the Maine Principals' Association will require masking for any tournament play.
Schools are being allowed to adopt different policies, such as for masking requirements, but Theriault noted that one larger school that has decided not to follow CDC guidelines has found that other schools are refusing to play games with their athletes. In this area, he noted that Narraguagus and Woodland are requiring the wearing of masks by players, as are Penobscot Valley Conference schools, while Washington Academy is not.
Concerning whether Shead would play a school that does not require players to wear masks, Theriault said they would play, but Johnson added that if any taunting remarks were made to the Shead students about the wearing of masks "that would be the only time we would travel to another school without masks. We would walk off the court if they were belittled in any way."
No matter what other schools and the Downeast Athletic Conference decide on masking, board chair Walter Cummings said, "Our decision as a board is to do right for Shead High School. Our concern is to do the best for the students here."
Following the discussion, the board voted 4-0 to support Theriault's recommendations, with one change, noting that advance ticket sales will be encouraged but not required, with the total number tickets sold for a game not to exceed 125. A second motion to require pool testing for players and coaches was approved 3-1, with board member Jessica Andrews opposed.

Health policies to continue
Johnson noted that vaccination plans for students who are ages 5 through 11 are being rolled out. A regional vaccination site has been set up in Calais, which is where area residents are being referred to for student vaccinations.
Concerning pool testing and universal masking at the Eastport schools, Johnson said those two policies "have maximized the number of students we have been able to keep in school." Noting that one school in the district that does not require masking has had a high number of students in quarantine, he said the low quarantine numbers in Eastport "are attributable to masking here." The board then decided to continue with universal masking and pool testing at both schools.
The board approved using the coach bus that the school system previously agreed to lease from the port authority for $1 a year for student activities as soon as possible. Cummings noted that the bus could help with recruiting more tuition students to the school, as eighth graders from surrounding schools could be invited to join high school students on field trips in the area for learning enrichment.
Johnson reported on the appointment of Ian Campbell as a learning recovery specialist, Dale Bowen Sr. as a day custodian, Dale Bowen Jr. as a night custodian, Glenn McNally as the boys' junior varsity basketball coach and Kayla Barber as the cheering coach at Shead.

Principal's report
Theriault reported that 67 students and staff are taking part in pool testing and that the testing is going well. The school filed four close contact tracing reports during the past month, with four students needing to quarantine because of community exposure to COVID-19 positive cases. Any students or staff at the schools who were exposed to the students were exempt from quarantining because of universal masking and pool testing at the schools. Also, two students were in quarantine because of community exposure. Since there was no school exposure, no reporting by the school was necessary.
The board approved Theriault's request to have WSHD 91.7 go off the air for a period of time while the station is reorganized. The school is licensed for two radio stations, the older, 10-watt 91.7 and the 100-watt 93.3 WSHD-LP, which, unlike 91.7, has DJs and students involved in running the station.
The third round of federal COVID relief funds for the Eastport schools has been approved, with the funding to be used for learning recovery, enrichment, after-school and summer programming and the upgrading of outdoor recreational facilities.
The annual Thanksgiving dinner was held, with Dana Bowen and his crew in the cafeteria and the National Honor Society assisting. The dinner is funded by the school staff.
The Freshman Reception was slated to be held on November 19, and Theriault noted that students have the most school spirit that he's seen in a long time.