D60 changes course and cancels in-person concerts and musicals
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- On February 9th, music teachers all across Pueblo School District 60 received an email with news they had been waiting on for months: if you would like to plan for an in-person performance for the Spring (concerts, musicals, etc) you are allowed to do so.
The email laid out a number of COVID-19 Safety measures required in order to hold an event, including maintaining a 6-ft distance, wearing masks all of the time, limiting 50 people to a stage, and limiting audiences to 50% of the capacity space.
However, on February 18th, D60 completely changed course. District officials sent out an email telling teachers to disregard the previous email.
"At this time D60 has not approved these activities to resume in person," according to the email for district officials. "We apologize for any confusion this miscommunication may have caused. We appreciate your patience as we continue to monitor and navigate COVID."
At a Pueblo School District Board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso said the original email was a mistake made by district staff.
"The communication email was sent out inadvertently without the approval of a supervisor and without the knowledge of district staff," said Macaluso. "[The email] authorized in-person activities like musicals concerts. That communication was retracted because that was not considered or approved."
Meanwhile, both parents and teachers are upset that the school district permits sporting events to take place with audiences, but concerts are disallowed.
"We see daily pictures of wrestlers wrestling without any masks on and basketball players with masks hanging below their noses (and sometimes mouths). We see pictures of spectators in the bleachers," Leigh Cortese, a choir teacher at Pueblo Centennial High School, wrote to the District 60 School Board. "Again I get the questions, “Why can they do that but we can’t have a concert with masks on and nobody touching each other?” This time I don’t have any logical answers for them."
According to District 60, athletic competitions have an approved variance that was issued from the Colorado High School Activities Association. Even though our students are competing in athletic events, it is important to point out that they have suffered quarantines that have kept several students away from the learning environment throughout the school year.
"D60 works closely with the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment on all topics related to in-person learning and events," said Dalton Sprouse, the D60 School Board Communications Director, in a statement to KRDO. "Because these conversations have not yet taken place, the message was retracted to allow our team to think creatively about how we can support the efforts of our extracurricular activities."
D60 says they value all of their programs and know how important these activities are for students, and will continue to work with teachers through this issue on the future.
