In this screencap from Tuesday’s Wood County Board of Education meeting, board members and Wood County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook wear face masks while observing social distancing. The meeting was broadcast online through Zoom as citizens were not permitted to attend due to concerns of COVID-19. (Image Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Wood County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook said guidelines recently issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control would make it “impossible” to reopen schools in the fall.

The comments came during Tuesday’s Wood County Board of Education meeting. The five-member board and Hosaflook met at the central office, but wore masks and kept distance between each of them. The meeting was broadcast online through Zoom.

“I know everyone wants an answer. Unfortunately, I cannot provide an answer on how school will look” in the fall,” Hosaflook said. “What I do know: School will not be normal next year.”

Schools state- and nation-wide closed earlier this year to help slow and stop the spread of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice later ended the school year, saying buildings could not reopen under state and federal recommendations of social distancing and limits on public gatherings.

Hosaflook said the West Virginia Department of Education will be releasing guidelines June 8 on how school systems can reopen this fall while keeping students safe from COVID-19.

“The guidelines as we know them, they may not be as clear and defined,” Hosaflook said. “They are giving us flexibility and they want to stress this is fluid, this is changing, and the guidelines will be based on the CDC guidelines at the time.”

The CDC last week released some guidance, which raised some eyebrows and led many to question how the precautions could be implemented. Among the guidelines are all children over the age of 2 wear masks, limiting the number of students in classrooms, cafeterias and on buses and constant social distancing during the school day.

“Right now, the CDC guidelines nearly make it impossible to come back to school,” Hosaflook said. In addition to the logistics of distributing, monitoring and enforcing the use of masks for more than 12,000 students, Wood County Schools does not have the physical space to support the required level of social distancing.

“On a 65-passenger bus, only 10-11 students can be on that bus” under the CDC guidelines, Hosaflook said. “We would have to quadruple our bus runs every day. It would bankrupt the system.”

The recommendations are not mandates, and federal officials have said they are intended to help schools consider the steps necessary to safely reopen schools. Officials plan to revise the guidelines throughout the summer months, and the state Department of Education, as well as other West Virginia education organizations, are working to develop school reopening plans.

There will be a lot of scenarios put on the table, and we’ll look at those scenarios and see what’s best for Wood County Schools,” Hosaflook said.

Hosaflook also said there was concern for teachers returning to what likely will be a dramatically different classroom structure this fall. If the school system goes to a staggered structure, where students alternate the days they physically attend and learn remotely the rest of the week, teachers will be juggling instruction on multiple fronts. Hosaflook said officials already intend to have “intensive professional development” during the summer months for Wood County teachers.

“It’s a very difficult time,” he said. “We’re not thinking outside the box, we’re creating a whole new educational system.”

Contact Michael Erb at merb@newsandsentinel.com.