School districts face uncertainty ahead of next school year

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As the state of Texas begins to reopen, ABC13 asked school districts how they're preparing for a new school year even as uncertainty remains.

"If social distancing requirements are still in place, then, as many are reporting, we can't stick 50 kids on the bus and school districts cannot afford to double or triple their bus fleet," Pearland ISD Superintendent Dr. John Kelly said.

For Pearland ISD, possibilities include starting the school year with social distancing, continuing the year with online learning, or starting the year like normal then reverting back to distance learning if another COVID-19 outbreak were to happen.

"Our job right now is to prepare for those three possibilities and then see what happens as time goes on," Kelly said.

Fort Bend ISD says it's considering similar options.

"We're looking at what the schedules would look like. Do we need additional scheduling? Additional staffing for intervention support? Do we need to extend the school day?" Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Dr. Charles Dupre asked.

While it's too early to know how the next school year will begin, Pearland ISD and Fort Bend ISD said they have both formed their own committees to help plan for all possibilities.

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