For the Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD – On Feb. 10, members of the Marshfield Board of Education took verbal and written comments from about a dozen parents and students, urging them to put kids back in classrooms full time.

Clorissa Schmitt is the parent of a high school sophomore and a seventh grader at the middle school who wants her kids back in the classroom sooner rather than later.

Ryan Kanitz told the board he wants his junior, freshman, and seventh grader back in school, all day every day.

Angela Faber, a mother of five school-age kids, called virtual learning “disappointing to say the least.”

Jenna Holt is a full-time virtual student right now, because she has a compromised immune system, and she works part-time at a hospital with many susceptible elderly patients.

District officials and board members said after the meeting they have been working out the details of a back-to-school plan, and they do anticipate some sort of change coming, but don’t know how soon that will be and that those plans cannot be finalized just yet.

Chris Dickinson, parent of a Marshfield high school student and member of the Stratford school board, addresses the Marshfield school board during public comments. Kris Leonhardt photo

In a message to high school students and families posted to the district’s website last Feb. 5, administration officials said they were exploring options to shift from the current 25 percent capacity limit to a 50 percent capacity model, with students split into two groups and attending in-person classes every other day – the same model the middle school has used all year. Right now, district officials say the implementation of that plan could coincide with the start of the fourth quarter on March 24.

On Feb. 8, the Wausau school district voted to return their students to the classroom on March 1. That same evening, the Wisconsin Rapids school district voted for a four-day school week for secondary students but has not identified a specific timelines, as precautions will need to be implemented.