“So, how many times a week does someone ask you about the gym reopening?” I asked Kelly Haaland, the superintendent of Big Sandy Schools. I’d talked to enough school employees to know that it was a hot topic that had prompted a lot of discussion.
Mr. Haaland laughed as he replied: “I’m asked about it daily,” before going on to explain to me the challenges associated with reopening the gym for the community during the time of Covid-19 easing restrictions. The problem the school faces is that in order to comply with the regulations for cleaning, they’d have to hire a full-time employee who does nothing but clean the gym, check temperatures of visitors as they enter, and log who arrives and departs along with their times. Mr. Haaland went on to explain that if the Chouteau County Health Department were to catch the school failing to comply with the regulations, they could shut the school down entirely. Of course, as much as the school would like to provide the gym as a resource to the community, their primary responsibility is to meet the educational needs of the students.
As we discussed the cleaning expectations, he handed me a 14-page packet entitled: “Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities” from the National Federation of State High School Associations’ Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. Mr. Haaland explained “As the national organization goes, so goes the local schools.” Topics and expectations covered in the document vary from illness reporting, testing, temperature screenings as students come to the facility, planning for the needs of vulnerable individuals, the use of masks to limit respiratory droplets, scheduling competitions to require limited travel and discourage the spread of the illness, limitations on attendance at events, facility cleaning, social distancing issues while spotting during free weight lifting, etc.
I spoke with Jeramie Erie, the custodian responsible for cleaning the gym to keep it in compliance with the national standards and the county health department‘s expectations. He explained that the gym has been reopened for the football team to begin conditioning for the coming season. This has required him to clean the facility thoroughly before they arrive and again after they leave. The process takes from an hour and a half to 2 hours of his day. Every piece of equipment must be disinfected and cleaned each time.
Student athlete, Kody Strutz talked about how weird it was having your temperature taken and recorded when you show up for practice every day. He also talked about having to clean the weights with disinfectant after each use. Mr. Haaland described the cleaning requirements a little more in depth. When a treadmill is used, for example, every surface on it has to be cleaned, including the entire belt. Then it has to be moved entirely, and the space underneath it has to be cleaned. Afterward, the surfaces of any nearby equipment have to be disinfected as well.
The strictness of these cleaning expectations creates a significant challenge for the school in their decision whether or not to open the school gym for public use. In addition, Mr Haaland explained that if the school were to have a student or faculty member contract the illness, the entire facility would have to be shut down for disinfecting. Every classroom, hallway, locker, desk, etc. would need to be disinfected, with classes and activities suspended until the work is completed.
For these reasons, Mr Haaland explained, they’re not sure when they will be able to allow the community to resume use of the gym. “We would like to reopen, but when we do it will be for limited hours and will take place under strict guidelines.”
