Supt. Randy Booker has called for an emergency School Board meeting tomorrow, Friday, March 13 at 4:30 p.m. to recommend that all PUSD school sites close from Mar. 16 – Mar. 27. Although there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the district, developments over the past several days are prompting this action.
The community is encouraged to watch the meeting on KCOM (ch. 27) for details, rather than attend in person due to restrictions on social gatherings. We will post updates on the Exedra website when more details become available.
NOTE: School IS in session on Mar. 13.
The following letter was sent to PUSD families on Thursday, March 12 just after 5:00 pm.
A Message from Piedmont Unified School District
PUSD Families,
I want to first share that at this time we have no confirmed cases of students or staff diagnosed with COVID-19. Developments around COVID-19 have been fast and furious over the past two days.
With that said, last night during the PUSD Board of Education meeting, the Board unanimously gave me direction to explore planning for school closures district-wide in order to:
- Slow the spread of COVID-19 across the state and in our community, reduce the number of people infected, and protect those who are most vulnerable to severe illness.
- Plan and prepare for a continuity of educational services during a pandemic that may last for an extended period of time.
I have called for an emergency Board of Education Meeting tomorrow, Friday at 4:30pm in Piedmont City Hall to:
- Offer my recommendation that the Board take action to close all PUSD school site facilities and dismiss students – March 16th – March 27th.
- Provide details on actions related to a continuity of instruction, district operations, and communications.
Based on the Board’s direction last night, I highly anticipate that the Board will approve this recommendation.
I want to encourage the public to watch the meeting on KCOM rather than attend in order to promote effective social distancing during this time. We will have limited seating as we are now required to ensure that the space is well-ventilated and participants are able to attend and maintain at least an arm’s length of one another.
If there are more attendees than the room can accommodate, attendees may need to wait in the courtyard until it is their turn to speak.
Additionally, we are being asked by the Alameda County Public Health Department to maintain a registration list of participants and staff; this will assist local public health officials in contact tracing in the event a COVID-19 case is later identified as having attended the event.
Please note: All schools are in session for all students and staff tomorrow, Friday, March 13th .
I will issue a follow-up email tomorrow after the Board of Education Meeting to families and staff regarding this decision and the effects on educational services and district operations.
Thank you to everybody who has reached-out to my office. I want to apologize for not being able to respond today as COVID-19 planning has been the priority. Thank you for your patience. I appreciate everyone’s efforts in helping our students and staff feel safe and cared for at this time.
Sincerely,
Randall Booker, Superintendent