NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) will continue in Jessamine County when school begins on August 26. It's not the decision the superintendent wanted to make, nor was it the decision for which his board voted, but it is final and will be in place for at least the first two weeks of school.
"I think he made a good choice based on the different information he had," said Jenny Ray, whose children go to school in the district.
Superintendent Matt Moore vetoed his board members who voted 3-2 in favor of a return to in-person learning. He cited a 650 percent hike in positive cases per 100,000 people in the community for guiding his thought process.
Moore wasn't available to discuss his decision on Tuesday, as he was in meetings all day. Still, in a statement the district released, he said he had to override his desire to get the kids back to school because it's too risky given the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. He also made no promises about returning to school once the two-week NTI session is over. That situation will be reevaluated at a later time.
"There are positives and negatives for each," said Joe Kosin, a Jessamine County parent. "I personally wanted them to go back," he added before saying he completely understands Moore's decision.
"Jessamine County schools have always put the kids first," Kosin said.
Moore, like every other superintendent around the state and country, is in an impossible spot. There are obvious benefits to having kids in school, but if one of them, or a staff member contracts the virus, it would likely present a significant problem.
"I think there's a ton of benefits to being in school," said Jeana Huffman, while her two elementary school kids were making noise from the back seat. “But I don't really think we're ready to tackle all that right now.”
