HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High School has a tentative graduation date for 2 p.m. Sunday, July 12.
USD 258 officials did not set a location at their meeting Monday night, but the Humboldt sports complex was mentioned, since it would provide more “opportunities to put people six feet apart,” according to Kay Lewis, school superintendent.
According to Lewis, there is “no way to have graduation in Phase I” of Gov. Laura Kelly’s reopening plan, which extends to Monday.
Until then, the number of people attending public gatherings cannot exceed 10, and the state has issued special directions that graduation events cannot be held during this timeframe.
In Phase II, public gatherings cannot exceed 30, and this phase can end no earlier than June 1.
In Phase III, public gatherings cannot exceed 90, and this phase can end no earlier than June 15.
Given restrictions on the number of people who can attend events, as well as some ambiguity with regard to social distancing during Phase III, according to Lewis, this pushes any possible graduation date deeper into the summer.
According to Lewis, place the date any earlier, and “we might not be having the kind of graduation we want.”
Other considerations were that Yates Center is tentatively planning its graduation for June 20, and a trapshooting event is currently scheduled for July 11.
As the date is tentative, however, and a specific site has not yet been selected, communication between all relevant parties will continue, especially as phases in the governor’s plan are not ultimately determined by dates, but by health metrics such as the number of COVID-19 cases across the state.
ANOTHER point of discussion during the meeting concerned the bond issue to fund improvements to all three district school buildings and other key structures, such as the board office.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the bond’s original vote for May 19 was postponed.
Lewis suggested holding the vote in August or November, but ultimately board members were reticent to speak up.
After a prolonged silence, Lewis said it would be possible to “continue to look at [the issue] month by month.”
She suggested staying flexible because “there’s a lot of uncertainty” at this time, and because she was concerned that “we’re gonna get hit with [COVID-19] again next year.”
Hence, there was even some talk that the bond issue might be postponed for an entire year.
