Fresno Unified joins new COVID-19 testing pilot designed to return students to campuses
Fresno Unified School District is joining a second COVID-19 testing pilot program “infinitely” cheaper than what board members approved a couple of weeks ago. This program also is designed to get students back to campuses quicker, which has now become a possibility for the district.
Superintendent Bob Nelson confirmed the partnership with the California Endowment, which spearheaded the pilot program at 10 other districts in the state, in a Friday interview with The Bee’s Education Lab.
“We’re super excited the Endowment reached out to us and created this process for everybody going back (to campuses),” he said. “We’re the biggest district they’ve taken on so far.”
FUSD is the third-largest school district in California with 73,000 students and employs about 10,000 people — making it the largest employer in the San Joaquin Valley. The district had a different approach to reopening than other districts in Fresno County because of its size and the ripple effect reopening the district could have on the community.
The district’s plan is to wait until the county reaches the orange Tier 3 in the state’s color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” of coronavirus safety measures and restrictions. The orange tier represents “moderate” risk levels for spreading COVID-19. To get to the orange tier, positive coronavirus cases would need to dip between 1 and 3.9 daily cases per 100,000.
However, Nelson said the district is in “live time” negotiations with its labor unions to reopen sooner. On Monday, about 700 teachers will be returning to campuses and there are more than 3,000 students in small cohorts distance learning on campuses.
How much will this cost FUSD?
The partnership between FUSD and the Endowment comes after board members approved an expensive COVID-19 testing pilot program with the United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley to provide onsite testing for school district staff. Some trustees were concerned the pilot program is too “pricey,” with each test costing $150, and wanted to table the vote until officials looked into cheaper options.
But without the pilot program, the district wouldn’t be able to start sending small cohorts of students back to FUSD’s 106 campuses. So the board approved the program.
Joining the Endowment’s program has “infinitely” decreased the amount of money FUSD will have to spend on testing, Nelson said.
Through the Endowment’s program each test will only cost $1, Nelson said, which makes the program — at most — $74,000. But, he said, since not every student and teacher will be on campuses the cost will be closer to $30,000.
The reason the Endowment’s COVID-19 test is so much cheaper is because it’s an antigen test, said Dr. Tony Iton, senior vice president for programs and partnerships at the Endowment. The testing used through United Health is a PCR test, which is “highly sensitive” and could detect the virus even when it’s dead and not contagious.
The point of testing people on campuses is to detect positive cases, Iton said, and rather than using a $150 test to pinpoint positive cases using the antigen test is a lot more affordable. After a positive case is detected FUSD staff will then follow up with a PCR test.
“We’re very thankful for The California Endowment to cut down on cost,” Nelson said. “It’s minimal cost (for FUSD) and no cost for kids.”
The antigen test results also come back within 15 minutes, Iton said, so cases are detected right away.
Nelson said the district still needs to PCR test people because it helps with contract tracing. The district is also hiring four registered nurses and increasing the amount of licensed vocational nurses to get testing to as many schools as possible.
How will this COVID-19 testing program work?
The Endowment has budgeted about $2.4 million to implement the program at a total of 11 school districts in California. The idea is to have everybody on a school site tested on a weekly basis so positive coronavirus infections can be detected as soon as possible.
The program is designed to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks on campuses and bring students in marginalized communities back to school quickly. The pilot program has also launched in Merced County districts — McSwain Union Elementary School District, Planada Elementary School District, and Weaver Union School District.
“We’re really excited about Fresno (Unified) coming on board,” Iton said. “If Fresno can do it, any district in the state of California can do it. I think Fresno can lead the way along with Mcswain (unified) to open school faster particularly for elementary schools and Black and brown kids.”
The other larger districts the Endowment has taken on are Oakland Unified School District and Compton Unified School District.
At FUSD, the plan is to start off with elementary schools, Nelson said. Everybody on the campuses will be tested once a week, he said, and after the program gets going “the best-case scenario is twice a week.”
It’s unclear how many of the 68 elementary schools the district will begin testing weekly, Nelson said, but it could be around 30.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Fresno Unified joins new COVID-19 testing pilot designed to return students to campuses."