With one possible exception, none of Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 schools’ COVID-19 cases this fall resulted from exposure at school, Superintendent of Schools Howie Tuttle told the board of directors Dec. 10.

Recapping COVID-19 incidents the district has faced since it resumed offering fully in-person learning Sept. 2, Tuttle said the case count did not include any positive results for remote learners, since exposure would not have been an issue. He said when an in-person learner or staff member tests positive, “we have to follow a protocol from Maine (Center for Disease Control) and, depending on the close contacts and where did people go, we have quarantined the close contacts,” which many times has been a class, Tuttle said. 

Chelsea Elementary and Palermo Consolidated schools have each had a positive case; due to Palermo’s, a seventh grade class was quarantined, Tuttle said.

He said Windsor Elementary’s four cases happened at different times, and each stemmed from an exposure elsewhere “and they brought it into the building.” Whitefield Elementary had six cases in an outbreak – when a building has at least three cases among people “who are not necessarily associated with” one another, he said.

“It sounds scary, and all of this is scary, but I just wanted to clarify that ... it did not come from school. (The virus) was spreading in Whitefield, but it was not spreading in the school.” Three of that school’s cases were in one family, and a fourth also involved someone with a family member who had the virus, Tuttle said. 

“The only situation where it does seem like they got it from within the building was (that) we had two staff members (at Whitefield) who are close friends and it seems like one of them maybe got it from the other. So it kind of emphasizes, and it’s a wake-up call for everybody, that those protocols are super important. These masks actually work, staying away from each other actually works (and) helps us keep kids in school.”

Tuttle said students, especially younger ones, learn best in-person, and most SVRSU students have learned in-person, five days a week since schools reopened. “That’s a lot of hard work by our teachers and our staff to make that happen, following the protocols day after day, wearing these masks day after day, so I think we really need to make sure that we show our appreciation for all of that work.”

Participants in the part in-person, part Zoom meeting applauded. Wiscasset Newspaper later viewed the session on SVRSU’s Youtube channel, where it remains available.

In the meeting, board member Richard DeVries of Westport Island praised Tuttle’s and staff’s leadership. “They have done above and beyond in making sure that we have a safe environment for our students ... So I would just like to say, thank you all.” The meeting applauded again.

By a vote of the finance committee, with COVID-19 relief running out this month, the budget has been frozen, meaning all purchases need his approval, Tuttle said. Freezing the budget does not save much, “but it’s something,” he said.

In a split vote, the board rejected letting recreational youth basketball use school gyms.

SVRSU serves Alna, Westport Island, Whitefield, Somerville, Chelsea, Palermo and Windsor.