Gov. Roy Cooper announced July 14 that all North Carolina public schools K-12 will be limited to 50% of their maximum capacity when they return on Aug. 17 while giving students an option for remote learning.

Cooper choose Plan B over Plan A which would’ve allowed all students to return to campus at the same time, and Plan C, which would’ve continued only virtual learning into the 2020-2021 academic year.

“Today, we announce that North Carolina schools will open for both in-person and remote learning with key safety precautions to protect the health of our students, teachers, staff and families. This is the Plan B that we asked schools to prepare,” Cooper said during Tuesday’s press conference. “As a part of this plan, we want local school districts to provide a remote learning option for any child who chooses it. In addition, school districts will have the option of Plan C – all remote learning – if that’s best for them.

Public school buildings in North Carolina have been closed since March 14 due to the spread of COVID-19. 

In Plan B, each district can plan for students to alternate between in-person and remote lessons. Heightened safety procedures will be implemented, including 6 feet of distance between all students and staff.

• Plan A: All students attend school at the same time. Teachers and older students wear masks as part of more comprehensive safety protocols.
• Plan B: Schools limited to 50% of their maximum capacity. Each district plan for students to alternate between in-person and remote lessons. Heightened safety procedures implemented, including 6 feet of distance between all students and staff.
• Plan C: No students attend in-person lessons as remote instruction continues. Most districts are awaiting Cooper’s decision before sharing reopening specifics. But a few have revealed details on their potential reopenings, particularly for Plan B, which possesses the most variables around blending in-person and remote instruction.

What’s the future of high school sports?

During a media briefing last week, N.C. High School Athletic Association Commissioner Que Tucker said that Plan B was “perhaps the most concerning” plan for high school sports to return. She said it presents a number of logistical issues with transportation, finances, safety, and resources. 

“There are a lot of issues and there are a lot of concerns and challenges that we’ll have to overcome to play sports, aside from just the ones that we think about first and foremost,” Tucker said during the briefing. 

The NCHSAA is currently in Phase 1, allowing student-athletes and coaches no physical contact with the ability to work primarily on conditioning. 

Tucker said the NCHSAA could not make any major announcements before Cooper’s decision on which of three reopening plans were permissible when K-12 lessons resume Aug. 17.

Tucker also said the NCHSAA would not make any decisions on the future of athletics without discussing options with its membership. 

She sent an email to the membership after Cooper’s announcement July 14 which said “this decision on the starting of school for the 2020-2021 school year now puts us in a better position to make informed decisions concerning if, when, and how to resume athletic competition.”

Erwin football coach Rodney Pruett said July 14 that Plan B gives him “hope for the future” but he believes the football season won’t start until late September. 

“I think there is hope with Plan B. If it was Plan C we were dead in the water. At least now I think, there is a chance our kids get to play sports in the fall. What that looks like, we’ll just have to wait and see,” Pruett said. 

Western Mountain Athletic Conference football coaches, including Pruett, met last week and presented tentative plans for what a season could look like under Cooper’s school plan.

For Plan B, coaches presented a plan that would move the season back two months and eliminate three weeks of the regular season. The plan would also eliminate the playoffs and allow for a postseason bowl game.

Another plan would eliminate five weeks of the regular season and modify the playoffs from five rounds to four. 

First place conference teams would receive automatic bids and the rest of the bracket would be filled by at-large teams based on MaxPreps rankings.

A third option would consider moving spring sports to the fall with the first football game starting March 5. There was also an option to move winter sports to the fall.

“If we shut down, it’s going to be really hard to recover financially, and that’s why it should be considered that football moves to the spring,” Reynolds football coach Shane Laws said after the meeting. “If we don’t play this season, we’re going to lose kids to other states and fringe guys who won’t play. It would be devastating.”

David Thompson is an award-winning reporter for the Citizen Times. He can be reached at dthompson@citizentimes.com, at 828-231-1747, or on Twitter at @acthshuddle.

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