Although Weslaco and Mercedes ISDs are extending their winter breaks through the end of the week in light of the pandemic, the majority of school districts in Hidalgo County appear to be moving forward as planned while urging students and staff to get tested and vaccinated for the coronavirus.
The number of confirmed cases of the virus has ticked up steadily throughout the Rio Grande Valley over the winter break, and Cameron County reported the region’s first confirmed case of the highly contagious omicron variant Monday afternoon.
Monday was a holiday for Hidalgo County and it did not issue any updated COVID-19 data, although Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez released a statement in response to “inquiries about any actions being considered with regard to COVID-19” that indicated serious changes to pandemic policy at the county level aren’t imminent.
“There are no plans currently for Hidalgo County to disrupt commerce with any type of closure,” the judge wrote.
The county isn’t planning on enacting any types of closures at local schools either, the statement indicates.
“Decisions regarding local schools are properly being made by administrators and school boards overseeing those schools; Hidalgo County is providing statistical data to aid in those decisions but is not involved in any final determination regarding schools,” Cortez wrote.
Weslaco announced their decision Sunday, saying the district will remain closed for the week “out of an abundance of caution” due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.”
Manual trades and transportation staff at the district will return to work Friday, and high school athletics programs will continue as scheduled, while middle school athletics and instruction will resume Monday, Jan. 10.
Kendall Hill, a Weslaco parent, said she was pleased with the district’s decision.
“Many, many families that we know, the entire family has COVID,” she said.
Hill, who’s a nurse, said her reaction seems to be the norm.
“If they have an opinion, it’s positive,” she said. “The comments I saw are that people were supportive we have a school district that cares about keeping our cases down.”
Mercedes ISD, which was supposed to resume operations Wednesday, announced late Monday that they too would hold off on resuming classes till next week, although athletic, band and extracurricular activities at the district will resume as scheduled.
Cortez’s statement urges hygiene and social distancing, along with proactive steps for potential exposures.
“It is important to get tested if you suspect you have been exposed to COVID and to isolate yourself if you test positive,” he wrote. “The protocols have not changed.”
Several Hidalgo County districts — many of which will see students return Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday — are plugging vaccine and testing opportunities as well.
McAllen, Edinburg, PSJA, Mercedes, Donna and Edcouch-Elsa school districts all advertised testing and vaccination locations.
“Due to the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, we highly encourage staff and students to get a COVID-19 test if you are experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive,” Edinburg CISD Superintendent Mario Salinas wrote in a statement.
On Saturday, Rio Grande City ISD in Starr County joined those Hidalgo County districts in publicizing testing sites while reiterating that staff would return to work Monday and students will return to class Wednesday.
“There is some misinformation circulating on social media that our schools will be switching to virtual teaching next week, and this is NOT true,” Superintendent Adolfo Pena Jr. said on Facebook.
The rise in COVID-19 cases has led to longer lines and wait times at testing sites across the Valley and the state.
The need for testing even prompted Texas to request Federal Emergency Management Agency support for testing sites in counties across the state last week, among them Hidalgo and Cameron counties.
Long lines continued at sites in Edinburg and McAllen on Monday.
Most districts are offering testing in-house, testing that may become more important due to longer lines at off-campus sites.
“We had some demand before the winter break and expect that demand to increase especially if folks are experiencing long lines at other testing facilities,” McAllen ISD Spokesperson Mark May said Monday.
May said the district is using Texas Education Agency resources for testing and that McAllen ISD doesn’t currently have any concerns over meeting that demand.
Other districts are facing some hiccups.
A vaccine clinic slated for Monday that Edcouch-Elsa ISD advertised was rescheduled for later in the week due to shipping delays.
These delays also caused the cancellation of COVID-19 testing at IDEA Public Schools in the county.
“As soon as testing supplies become available, we will announce new dates and testing locations. In the meantime, we have notified our families and encourage them to test at their local clinic, doctor’s office, or other community healthcare providers,” a statement from IDEA reads.
Donna ISD is running low on testing supplies after a change in vendors, although Superintendent Angela Dominguez says that problem should be remedied soon and she’s optimistic it won’t crop up again.
Donna saw staff and some students return to campus Monday. Things went smoothly, Dominguez said, noting that although testing is voluntary for staff, everyone seemed to opt into doing so.
“I haven’t seen anybody say they don’t want a test,” she said. “Our staff has been amazing about their own health and the wellness of kids coming back.”
Dominguez said she expects testing to be popular with students as well.
“I think we’re gonna see a good number of students want to test,” she said. “There’s been a shortage of getting access to tests in the community, and so I think this is also a good service to provide to our families, to be able to test their children and make sure that they have that peace of mind.”
That testing isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, Dominguez said.
“For us, one of the preventative measures is going to be ongoing testing, especially with our staff, to make sure that whoever is in the classrooms with our students is not in a position to spread the virus,” she said. “So we’re committed to offering that as an opportunity for our staff and for our families.”
NOTE: An earlier version of this post can be found here.
