McKeesport Area School District: Parents seek answers about COVID-19 cases

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

Two McKeesport Area School District parents accused the district during Wednesday’s agenda meeting of not being transparent enough about positive COVID-19 cases.

They also questioned why schools haven’t been shut down as a result of positive cases among students and staff members.

Superintendent Dr. Mark Holtzman said MASD has had eight positive cases of COVID-19 between Oct. 14 and Wednesday and that there have been 10 positive cases since the start of the 2020-21 school year.

On Monday, without saying whether it was a teacher, administrator, athletic department employee or member of the building support or maintenance staff, the district announced a Founders’ Hall Middle School staff member tested positive. That was one day after the district announced that “across two of our buildings, Twin Rivers Elementary and the high school, we have had three positive cases of COVID-19 in teachers, and two positive results in students.”

Prior to the meeting, the district announced that another high school student and two Francis McClure Elementary staff members tested positive and that the staff members had not been present for eight or nine school days.

In all the cases, MASD said the individuals who tested positive would or did remain isolated at home for at least two weeks and that MASD was working with the Allegheny County Health Department “to continue mitigation best practices.”

The district also repeatedly said ACHD was handling contract tracing and would contact families directly if someone in their household had been in close contact with someone at school who had tested positive.

During public comment, a man identified only as “Mr. Christian” said he is “deeply, deeply concerned with the lack of transparency by the coronavirus infections.”

He said MASD families have a right to know whether staff members who tested positive are teachers, members of the administration, police officers or security guards, coaches or other members of the athletics department or work for the custodial or buildings and grounds teams.

“We have a right to know not their names but their positions,” he said.

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