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Nampa School Board votes to keep kids learning remotely, Emmett makes changes

Emmett students will have in-person learning starting next Wednesday and there will be football this Friday with fans in the stands.

NAMPA, Idaho — It was a busy night again for several local school districts as leaders in Nampa and Emmett met to make some big decisions.

Emmett students and teachers can expect changes within the week.

Nampa on the other hand will continue remote learning.

The Nampa School Board voted 4-1 to keep schools in the red category. This means students will continue to learn remotely.

A majority of the members decided to go with the advice from Southwest District Health.

Since Canyon County is in the red, the recommendation is to continue remote learning.

The superintendent also agreed with that decision.

But one member of the board felt the district should return to in-person learning since there were online options offered to families.

“I choose as a parent to not take that option because I'm willing to take the risk to put my children in the school building, so it's frustrating to me that we're making a decision that takes away people's rights that they choose knowing there would be a risk."

“We could be two weeks away from going hybrid if we just move those numbers down and we work together as a community. If we bring students into our building when we have high community spread, we put our teaching staff, our certified staff, our classified staff in danger, obviously.

Craig Woods is the superintendent of Emmett schools.

He asked the board to consider the change to yellow because of the improving COVID-19 numbers.

Southwest District Health does have Gem County in its orange category.

Starting next Wednesday, students will learn in-person and masks will not be required.

The board also voted to change the athletic guidelines to the yellow category.

Starting with this Friday's football game against Weiser there will be no limit on how many fans can come out.

A group of parents and students gathered outside the Nampa School District offices Wednesday morning ahead of the school board's vote on athletics and how classes will be taught amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Several dozen people attended the rally. The group waved signs and chanted  “let us play” and “online learning is not learning.”

The Nampa School Board held a lengthy meeting Tuesday night to take testimony but adjourned without taking a vote. Trustees met again to vote on the school return plan and school sports on Wednesday. The meeting was streamed live on KTVB.COM. 

RELATED: Notifying parents of a confirmed coronavirus case in school will look different from district to district

Nampa schools went back in session with online learning only on Aug. 24. 

District officials previously opted to follow Southwest District Health's traffic light system; when Nampa is in a "red" category, students will do remote learning only. A move to orange or yellow opens the door for hybrid learning - some online, some in person - while a green categorization would allow students to return to the physical classroom as normal. 

RELATED: Hundreds of West Ada parents protest online learning decision

Canyon County is currently in the red category, with 80 deaths and more than 6,800 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic hit Idaho in March.

Tuck said that currently, student-athletes are allowed to participate in conditioning-style practices like weightlifting, but cannot hold full practices or games. 

The Nampa School Board also voted 4-1 in favor of letting fall athletics resume practice starting Thursday and sports teams take the field next week.

The school district has issued the following statement regarding the protest:

The Nampa School District respects the right of students, parents and community members to peacefully protest. We understand that when and how to return to the classroom and school activities is a difficult decision and that not everyone agrees with our reopening plan.  

Our administration and board trustees have spent countless hours over the past several weeks analyzing the science, data, expert opinion, and parent and staff feedback to try to determine the best course of action for our students, teachers and staff. 

Board members will consider all these factors tonight when they meet to make a decision regarding whether or not to return students to our classrooms and playing fields. 

In the interim, we continue to deliver a quality online educational experience to all of our students and look forward to a year of achievement and success. 

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