LEXINGTON, Ky. — Health officials in Lexington-Fayette County say while cases are still high, new cases of the COVID-19 virus are trending down.

What You Need To Know

  • Fayette County Schools extend NTI until Jan. 29

  • Parents are frustrated and say so are their children

  • FCPS says it is following a data matrix to ensure health and safety of children

  • Lexington is in the purple zone, meaning high cases

 

But that’s still concerning Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) officials.

This week, the district is reporting 197 cases for the 7-day average, which puts FCPS in stage five, the purple zone in their recently adopted COVID-19 matrix data. As a result, FCPS is extending virtual learning by another week.

“They used to love school, now they don’t at all,” said Greg Prince, a parent to two boys.

The frustrations are ongoing and mounting. Last year, the school district said by January 2021, students will return to the classroom.

“Quite frankly the damage is starting to show. The kids are, my kids have reached their breaking point,” Prince said. “My youngest son has never seen a classroom, he’s supposed to be in kindergarten.”

Since March, the school district has remained in remote learning.

“I mean when I told him he had to go back to school, he just started to cry. Well, he said, 'Do I have to do Zoom?' and I said "Well, yea you’re going to have to do Zoom' and he just started to cry,” Prince said. “He said 'I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go' and he was kicking and screaming you know. And it’s not the teachers' fault.”

In December, the district introduced a plan to return to in-person classes. The district's decisions are based on FCPS COVID-19 in-person learning Matrix Data.

On January 12, the district extended NTI until the 29. This week they added another week.

In a letter, Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm said, “So far this month, 343 students and 123 staff members have tested positive for the virus. This number is especially troubling considering that 305 students and 72 staff had COVID-19 during the entire month of December.” 

She added further, “While disappointed, we simply cannot compromise on the health and safety of our staff and students.”

But all this is something Prince isn’t buying.

“It’s the same old thing right? I mean she said a lot of niceties like we really want this to happen. Well if you want this to happen, show us by actions. You know words are one thing, actions are entirely different,” Prince said.

FCPS said they will continue to remain in remote learning until February 5. 

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