Today, Dr. Ian Hoffman, Humboldt County health officer, took questions from local reporters on the county’s response to the pandemic — particularly, today, about the vaccination effort.

Video above, rough transcript below.

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Good afternoon. We’re here with Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman for the January 21st media availability. Thank you for being here with us.

Thank you.

The North Coast Journal asks: “We’re receiving reports that both Safeway on Harris St. and Mad River Community Hospital have either posted sign ups for vaccine appointments or held vaccine clinics reportedly available to residents who don’t yet meet the stated eligibility criteria of being a healthcare worker or over the age of 75. Can you please explain how these offerings do or don’t fit into the county’s vaccination plan?”

Sure, yeah. We’ve been working with both of these entities to vaccinate our population. Safeway has been authorized to send invites to people who are healthcare workers we send those lists to them and then they invite them. That’s all the only group that they are vaccinating currently. Mad River has continued to work with our staff to vaccinate their own hospital employees and clinic employees and has worked with us over the past month to vaccinate other folks in the community who are health care workers outside of Mad River and just recently did start to open some clinics to those who are 75 years and older.

I don’t know of any of these who are offering outside of the guidance of what we’ve put forward and if we do find discrepancies, we reach out to those folks and alert them and try to problem solve around that. 

The North Coast Journal asks: “You have asked local residents over the age of 75 to wait to be contacted by their primary healthcare providers to schedule a vaccine. Is that still your advice?”

Yes it is. We have been working with a lot of healthcare providers around the county on trying to get the message right. One thing that we’re going to do to really try to help folks who are not part of the larger groups that are vaccinated right now, group practices that are vaccinated right now, is we’re going to be releasing an interest form that people would access on our website and that will allow people to go there, get their information and then we’ll collect that and make sure that those folks are reached out to in a timely manner to get them scheduled for an appointment. So that’s coming, it should be coming out in the next few days.

The North Coast Journal asks: “Some counties — including San Francisco — have launched vaccine registries that allow everyone to sign up in a single place to be notified when it’s their turn to schedule a vaccination appointment. Has Humboldt considered creating such a registry and what are the logistical challenges to doing so?”

Yes definitely. We’re working on that on a small scale for a smaller county. We’re starting - we started with surveys that we sent out to the groups in Phase 1A to find out what their interest was and start to organize clinics for them and that’s been ongoing since we got vaccine in December. We’ve also been working with other groups to you know like teachers and law enforcement and first responders to gauge their interest and start to work towards that next stage of planning.

And then there’s this interest form that’s going to be coming out and we realize that’s a small scale of what’s going on in some places but it is a big logistical challenge to get these things going. I’ll just note as well the state is working on a state-based platform for this exact kind of thing and we are definitely anticipating that we’ll be ready in the coming future and I think that will solve some of these concerns when people can go to that state-based platform and sign up. 

The North Coast Journal asks: “To your knowledge, have any vaccine doses expired locally and what direction have you given local providers in the event they have doses at imminent risk of expiring?”

I have not heard of any local doses expiring. In our planning with the providers who do COVID vaccination, we emphasize very strongly that we plan for the number of doses so you don’t end up with expiring doses at the end of a clinic. It happens, sometimes people don’t show up for their appointment. There are occasional things that happen so when there are expiring doses, a plan is in place with those folks to have a list of people they could call up and always - if there’s really truly an emergency and a dose is expiring I would encourage them to to reach out to the health officer to find a plan immediately.

The North Coast Journal asks: “From what you understand of contact investigations, what’s currently driving local case counts? Have the impacts of holiday travel and gatherings peaked yet?”

Yeah, it continues to be mostly through contact with a known someone that you know. That would include travel to visit family and friends and also gatherings. So we’re still seeing that. We are also not out of the holiday travel period yet; it really takes a good four to six weeks to see the true peak of those travel related events.

Redwood News asks: “The State announced late Wednesday that providers could resume the use of Moderna vaccines from lot 41L20A. Are you able to talk about any of the findings from the investigation into the vaccine and its adverse effects? What would your message to the community be for those that may be skeptical of the vaccine due to the pause?”

Yeah, I’m very happy to hear that the vaccine was released from the pause. It was having big effects on our vaccination effort locally. The findings of the investigation were basically that they could not conclude with any scientific evidence that there was a problem with this entire batch, it was located in one small area. In a meeting with the health officers from the western states along with experts in immunology and allergy, it was decided that it was safe to move on. I think it’s the right decision.

That lot has continued to be used both here, in other states that had the same lot and before the pause it had been given across the whole state of California. Hundreds of doses here in Humboldt County, thousands in some counties without any other notice of a problem so we feel confident that this was a localized issue, that it had nothing to do with the entire lot and that we we will continue to use it and I definitely don’t think there should be any concern for that lot going forward. 

Redwood News asks: “Now that the County is able to resume using the Moderna vaccines and replacements are no longer needed, are you able to talk about how the pause affected vaccinations this week? Also, what this pause means for the vaccination plan moving forward? Are any future phases/roll outs going to be delayed or pushed back due to the pause this week?”

Yeah, I can speak to some of the delays for sure. Within public health we had planned to expand our public health appointments just over a thousand this week and those were affected by the pause we were not able to to schedule those appointments, so they’ve been pushed off for the week.

There were other mass vaccination events that had been in the workings for this week as well that also had to be put on pause I don’t know the specific numbers for those because they’re going on outside of our public health department, but certainly they were eager and anxious to get them going and and had to put them on hold, but now that we have the release we’ll be able to get those back up and running. And how is that going to delay future phases and roll outs, hopefully no more than a week’s delay.

We were planning to get through this week’s doses and so now we’ll push those to next week and I think that we’ll be caught up by the end of next week. Then it’ll just depend on how much vaccine we get each week going forward after that. 

Redwood News asks: “Public Health announced a resident in their 50’s died with Covid-19 yesterday. Can you remind the community how Covid-19 deaths are reported? How quickly that is included in the County dashboard? Can you also speak to the fact that this is our youngest Covid-19 death since the start of the pandemic?”

Yes, so when someone dies with COVID-19 it can take sometimes days to get through the system of data that gets it to our local public health department. If that happens locally, many times we might know about it sooner, sometimes it might be happening outside of our county in which case it has to make its way through a state-based system to get to us. So that’s one of the reasons that sometimes things might seem delayed from the reporting side, but as soon as we know of that we get it into our system and report it on the dashboard immediately.

So the youngest COVID-19 death since the start of the pandemic certainly hits very hard on us here in our community. I think that we also have to remember and recognize that this has affected so many communities across California, across the world and this is exactly the kind of thing that we’re trying to prevent with all of the measures. There have been many more who’ve died that age and younger all across our nation. So we want to remember all of them and take the steps that we can to prevent the spread so this doesn’t happen to anyone else in our community. 

The Redheaded Blackbelt asks: “At this time, how many, if any, COVID-19 patients from out of the area have been transferred into Humboldt County hospitals due to the surge throughout the state? Are those cases being treated in the ICU?”

I do not know of any. 

The Redheaded Blackbelt asks: “After the pause on the Moderna vaccine batch the county was relying on to provide much of its vaccinations, does the county expect to be receiving additional shipments of the Moderna vaccine this month?”

Yes, we continue to get Moderna vaccine each week as allocated from the state and now with the freeing up of that paused Moderna lot we should be able to hold all of our clinics next week. 

The Redheaded Blackbelt asks: “To assist with the vaccination efforts locally, how many volunteers are being recruited, what is the potential number that could be enlisted? Are those volunteers going to be needed if the current rate of vaccination continues?”

Absolutely. So currently we have about 40 volunteers who have been sworn in. We have many more ready to be sworn in and they’re absolutely needed because this vaccination effort is only going to get bigger and bigger as time goes by, especially as we get more vaccine in the future. 

North Coast News asks: “Since the pause on the administration of the batch of the Moderna vaccine, can you quantify in numbers how many people weren’t able to get their second or first dose of the vaccine this week?”

Yeah so I think I mentioned some of the loss of clinics that we had for first doses, second doses again it’s these are estimates, but I estimate about 2500 of those were second doses that would have been on hold this week, but now they can proceed and we’ve let everyone know who is holding those doses, that they should proceed to vaccinate their second doses with that batch. 

North Coast News asks: “Today marks one year since the announcement of the first patient with Covid-19 in the United States. What do you think Humboldt has excelled at in the management of the COVID-19 vaccine and what has been the biggest blunder thus far? After the vaccine is administered to more people — when will the virus become an annual nuisance instead of an existential threat? How long do you think we will be wearing masks and limiting gatherings?”

Yeah it is a big landmark. It’s been a long, bumpy journey to get to here. I think Humboldt is doing really well overall with the vaccine. Of course, we will not say it was not without challenges and we’re all learning as we go along and building it as we go. I think that there is hope on the horizon for more support for this vaccine effort which certainly gives us a lot of hope that this will get better before it gets worse and the the vaccine will be the thing to end the pandemic.

But that’s still likely to take a while likely if we can get the amounts of vaccine that are needed to vaccinate the number of people weekly to get to a large portion of our population vaccinated by the end of the summer, we will be able to hopefully get back to a better place where we will feel more confident about reversing some of the measures like distancing, gatherings. In terms of mask-wearing I think that that’s something that is really difficult to address at this time. If we look back at the history of coronavirus and how it affected other societies in the past decade, there were many places where people were wearing masks over the last decade nearly every winter. So I think that we’ll see where this takes us.

It is a new tool that was not available with the vaccine in the past for corona - other coronaviruses. So time will tell, but I am hopeful that once we can get through a large portion of the vaccination effort throughout the rest of this year that we’ll be poised to roll back some of those measures.

If you’re one of Humboldt’s many trail enthusiasts, then you will be excited to know that the City of Eureka is hosting a public meeting tonight to provide the community with an update on the status of the proposed Bay to Zoo Trail!

Map of the proposed Bay to Zoo Trail Route | From the City of Eureka’s website

Like the name suggests, the over two-mile long trail would connect the Waterfront Trail near the Humboldt Bay to the Sequoia Park Zoo. Eventually, the City hopes to connect this trail to network of trials running through the entire city of Eureka. Neat!

The other cool thing about the proposed trail is that it would connect to Zane Middle School and Washington Elementary, providing students with a safe route for walking to school. The trail would provide an alternative route for accessing St. Joseph’s Hospital.

“The Bay to Zoo Trail closes a gap in the transportation network of Eureka,” The City of Eureka states on its website. “The City lacks safe routes to school options and safe routes for residents to access essential community destinations.  The Bay to Zoo Trail will construct over two miles of Class I bike path and non-motorized facilities in Eureka, connecting low income residential areas to schools, community services, the largest employer in Eureka, an existing bike path, and to County bike routes out of the area.”

For more information on the project, check out the public meeting — held via Zoom — tonight at 6:00 p.m. You can access the meeting link here.

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From the Eureka Police Department:

On January 20, 2021, at about 1:45 p.m., detectives with the Eureka Police Department’s Problem Oriented Policing team (POP), served a search warrant for narcotics and firearms on 40-year-old Brian Patrick Berquist of Eureka.

 

Berquist was driving his vehicle near the 3500 block of Union Street when he was stopped and detained by detectives. Inside his vehicle, detectives located a loaded pistol and a half pound of methamphetamine.

Detectives then served search warrants at two residences that Berquist associates with, one on the 300 block of Highland Avenue and one on the 2700 block of E Street. During these searches, detectives located an additional 17 grams of methamphetamine.

Berquist was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for possession of methamphetamine for sales, transportation of methamphetamine for sales, and possession of a loaded firearm while in possession of a controlled substance.

Anyone with information on ongoing drug or nuisance issues in the City limits of Eureka is asked to contact the EPD POP team at (707) 441-4073.

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The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) will again be allowed to provide needle exchange services in Eureka, after the City Council voted on Tuesday to allow the controversial nonprofit to operate a mobile syringe exchange program (SEP) in the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The council’s decision follows multiple meetings and countless hours of deliberation surrounding HACHR and syringe exchange programs. Last month the council temporarily banned SEPs entirely and, at the most recent meeting, the council adopted an emergency resolution allowing mobile SEPs during the pandemic. Like with some of those previous discussions, the council members did not see eye to eye and the vote to approve HACHR’s plan was 3-2, with Councilmembers Kim Bergel and Scott Bauer dissenting. 

Most of the council’s disagreement surrounded the language used in HACHR’s proposal, which disparaged some of the council’s requirements for mobile SEPs, including that they adhere to a strict one-for-one exchange.

“HACHR will abide by a one-for-one exchange rate, with the understanding that this is implemented for the purpose of ‘optics’ and community relations, since there is no scientific proof that this measure reduces syringe litter,” HACHR Executive Director Lasara Firefox Allen read from the proposal during the meeting.

Allen then explained why the organization chose to include this language, saying that they had consulted with other agencies and experts and that, because it is a “precedence-setting document” that it was important for HACHR to note its reasons for dissent.

Both Bergel and Bauer felt that the language in the proposal was unnecessary. “To fill an operations plan with commentary is very disappointing to me,” Bauer said.

Like in several recent meetings, Bergel expressed that she no longer had any interest in working with HACHR, saying that the organization’s attitude has been unprofessional.

“I do not support this plan and as a city I think we can do better with partnerships,” Bergel said during the meeting. “… If you want to work together and collaborate then you don’t pick every little thing apart. We are not 16 in high school. We are grown-ups and this is not the way to do business. I think that, once again, the attitude is ‘we are entitled and we’ll do what we want and get what we want.’ And that ship has sailed, at least for me. “

Though many of the councilmembers shared a distaste for the commentary in HACHR’s proposal, councilmembers Natalie Arroyo, Leslie Castellano and Katie Moulton felt that the plan did adhere to the city’s requirements and that Eureka needs more syringe services during the pandemic. “I would support anything to address that, and this proposal meets all the requirements,” Councilmember Moulton said.

City Attorney Bob Black recommended that the council request the dissenting language be removed from the proposal and that the word “interim” be added to clarify that this would be a temporary SEP plan. The council can come back and revoke the approval at any time, Black added, if the council feels that the program is not working out.

There was also a lot of discussion surrounding the proposed locations of the mobile exchange, with city staff identifying two of HACHR’s proposed locations as not suitable, due to nearby environmentally sensitive habitats. Allen said that HACHR was completely open to changing locations, and agreed to have those spots removed from the proposal.

Map showing one of the proposed mobile SEP locations near the Samoa Bridge | From HACHR’s proposal

Ultimately, the council approved three locations for HACHR to operate the mobile SEP: under the Samoa Bridge, the north end of the Bayshore Mall parking lot and a parking lot on A Street near the St. Vincent De Paul free meal. The third location will require written permission from the property owner.

Some councilmembers and community members in attendance also expressed concern over the cleanup process and, at the request of Councilmember Bergel, HACHR and city staff will do a walk-through of each site to identify what portion of the surrounding area HACHR staff will be responsible for cleaning up. Bergel also made a separate motion — which the council unanimously passed — requiring HACHR be responsible for cleaning up any waste related to drug paraphernalia, including cookers, alcohol wipes and needle caps.

HACHR will also need to go through some additional steps in the approval process before it can begin operating the program, including providing proof of auto insurance, liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. Once operational, HACHR’s mobile outreach vehicle will also provide other harm reduction services including smoking kits and overdose prevention supplies.

Councilmember Arroyo wanted to remind the community members who are invested in this topic that the council’s decision is temporary and the council will continue to work toward drafting a more permanent ordinance governing syringe services in the city.

“I really do look forward to having a more robust resolution that includes all of your concerns and I see this as an interim measure only and I also look forward to seeing any other proposals that might come forward,” Arroyo said.

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Humboldt County Administrative Office press release:

Tools for building trails in the McKay Community Forest that were recently stolen have been replaced thanks to the generosity of several local businesses. 

Shafer’s Ace Hardware, Pierson Building Center, Katri and Dart Electric and Revolution Bicycles have all aided in the cause to replace the stolen items which included 11 round and 4 square point shovels, 8 rakes and 3 pruning loppers with a total value of approximately $750.

“We are so lucky to live and work in a community with so many giving individuals and companies,” said Humboldt County Public Works Director Tom Mattson. “The needed tools will allow the county to move forward with this community project.”

The burglary was reported on Dec. 18, 2020, after it was discovered the tools were taken from a county-owned storage container that was broken into. The tools were intended to be used by the California Conservation Corps and Volunteer Trail Stewards to help build and maintain forest trails. The four businesses contacted the Humboldt County Public Works Department immediately after the news of the burglary was announced and offered to assist with replacing the tools or moving the storage container to a more secure location. 

The county recently released the final McKay Community Forest Trail Plan along with the associated environmental report. The trail plan proposes a trail network with 31 miles of multi-use roads, multi-use trails, hiking trails, and mountain bike trails. Trail building will begin after the Board of Supervisors adopts the environmental report and public health guidelines allow group gatherings.

Anyone with information on the stolen items is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 707-268-2539. The case reference number is 202006293.

PREVIOUSLY: 

• County Approves Purchase of 197-Acre McKay Community Expansion; New Public Trail Access Planned
• FEAST YOUR EYES on the Expansive Network of Multi-Use Trails in the County’s Final McKay Community Forest Trail Plan
• Hand Tools Being Used to Build McKay Community Forest Trails Stolen From Storage Shed, Says County Public Works

Humboldt County Drug Task Force press release: 

Since August of 2019 the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) has served three search warrants on Dustin Lawler (36 years old Mckinleyville). The three search warrants were all served on his previous residence in the 3500 block of Dows Prairie Rd. in Mckinleyville. In January of 2021 the HCDTF received information that Lawler was now selling drugs out of a mobile home in the 1900 block of Palomino Ln. in Arcata. This address is located within the Lazy J 55+ senior living park. HCDTF agents conducted an investigation and were able to obtain a search warrant for Lawler and his residence.

On January 20th, 2021 special agents with the HCDTF served the search warrant on the residence. Lawler was detained on scene along with three other visitors. Agents conducted a search and located the following evidence:

• 629 Oxycodone pills
• 16 steroid/HGH pills
• 20 Xanax pills
• 85 misc. pills
• 7 grams heroin
• 2 grams methamphetamine
• two digital scales and packaging
• $4,980 in US currency

Lawler was arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Jail for the following charges:

• H&S 11351 Possession of controlled substance for sale
• H&S 11375(B) Possession of controlled substance for sale
• PC 12022.1 Committing a felony while out on bail
• H&S 11366 Operating or maintaining a drug house

Lawler has shown a consistent pattern of selling drugs in Humboldt County with no intent to stop. Based off this HCDTF agents requested a bail increase for Lawler along with a requirement to provide proof of where bail funds were obtained from pursuant to penal code sections 1269/1275 PC. A Humboldt County Superior Judge signed the order and Lawler’s bail was raised to $360,000.

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes are encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.

PREVIOUS LAWLER:

• Guatemalan, Mexican Citizens Arrested With Two Pounds of Heroin Following McK Traffic Stop; Local Arrested for Maintaining a Drug House a Day Later
• Dows Prairie Man Arrested With Lots of Pills After Advertising Them for Sale on Social Media, Drug Task Force Says

With a slew of incoming federal and state funds, Humboldt’s school districts will soon have money coming at ‘em from all sides, and with it districts will continue to pursue progress — whether it be by officially breaking from distance learning, instituting learning loss programs or further addressing COVID-related equity gaps. Aside from districts’ hopes and dreams for them, though, the funds themselves (particularly those from California) come with some uncertainty.

At the end of December, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his Safe Schools for All plan, a $2 billion, yet-to-be approved proposal encouraging elementary schools to reopen. Claiming that “the right precautions can effectively stop the spread of COVID-19 in schools — particularly in elementary grades,” Newsom’s administration maintains that in-person instruction is important to both the academic and social-emotional wellbeing of students. By promising funding of $450 to $700 per student to schools that reopen, Newsom hopes to help grades K-6 return to the classroom this spring, with grades K-2 returning under the plan as soon as February. The plan coincides with the projected time vaccines will likely be available to childcare and education workers in California.

Only schools located in counties with an average daily infection rate below 25 cases per 100,000 are eligible to partake in the program (at the moment, Humboldt falls within that margin at a daily infection rate of 18.3), and to participate, schools must submit a reopening plan for approval to state and local health authorities by February 1 (a later submission would result in lower funding allocations).

“If I have $450 to $700 per student, but each test costs me $50, where’s the rest of that going to come from? Where’s the infrastructure for administering the test to staff and students?”
— Alyse Nichols, Trinidad Union School District superintendent

A couple of local superintendents contacted for this article didn’t want to comment on the Safe Schools for All plan because the information they had was only preliminary, and they felt too unsure of the yet-to-be approved legislation to discuss it. As the $2 billion proposal awaits approval (it’s a part of California’s 2021-2022 budget, but Newsom will seek early action by the legislature for this specific piece of the budget so it can get started ASAP), local elementary superintendents are unaware of certain details and whether the plan is logical for Humboldt’s schools at all.

For instance, participation in Safe Schools for All requires weekly testing of staff and students in counties with an average daily positive infection rate above 14 per 100,000. Some superintendents say weekly testing is likely not feasible. Furthermore, under the plan, districts would be able to purchase tests at one-third the market rate from Valencia Branch Laboratory, a state-run testing lab, but elementary school administrators aren’t sure it would be affordable, despite the extra cash.

Trinidad Union School District Superintendent Alyse Nichols said she’d like to participate, but has hesitations about the testing requirement. “I don’t know how much it’s going to cost me to run a test. So if I have $450 to $700 per student, but each test costs me $50, where’s the rest of that going to come from? Where’s the infrastructure for administering the test to staff and students?”

Nichols also wonders whether it’s feasible to depend on the state for PPE — another promise of Safe Schools for All — remembering that Trinidad Union School District was set to receive PPE from the state at the beginning of the school year. “It trickled in through October, but it still wouldn’t [have been] enough if we had our students back on campus,” Nichols said.

Though Newsom’s plan would allow for Trinidad to reopen in the purple — provided Humboldt stays below an infection rate of 25 per 100,000 — Nichols said that the district won’t open under current conditions, and will opt out of Safe Schools for All if local infection rates don’t send Humbodlt back into the orange (moderate) or yellow (minimal) tier. The staff is “excited to get kids back in the classrooms, but we just really want to do it safely,” Nichols said. Beyond inviting about 15 students in need of extra support to campus while Humboldt wasn’t in the purple tier, Trinidad hasn’t reopened their campus since COVID arrived.

In Fortuna, the elementary school district has been offering in-person instruction since early October — a decision that was driven by opinions provided by the majority of families and employees who responded to district surveys about modalities. Superintendent Jeff Northern told the Outpost in an email that he hopes to participate in Safe Schools for All, which would allow the district to continue offerings initially made possible by CARES Act aid. With those funds, they extended the full-time equivalent of English Learners and Intervention teachers, were able to pay some staff extra hours, upgraded technology and secured licenses for online teacher seminars. But Northern expressed similar skepticism about the feasibility of testing students and staff weekly, describing the undertaking as “completely overwhelming and likely not possible.”

“I am hopeful the state will resolve those questions and eventually streamline the process so that educators will have access to the funding that includes more reasonable expectations and/or requirements,” he wrote.

The Safe Schools for All plan has received pushback from other California superintendents. Seven superintendents of California’s largest districts co-authored a letter to Newsom, which said that the plan “does not address the disproportionate impact the virus is having on low-income communities of color.”

Newsom’s hopes to fund reopening fits nicely with the stimulus plan President Joe Biden announced last week, which would, if approved, direct 130 billion toward K-12 schools. These relief funds won’t be contingent on reopening, but Biden has expressed intentions to assist in safely reopening most American schools during his first 100 days in office.

Right now, all that’s guaranteed to districts is federal relief funding from the stimulus package that passed in late December, which included 54 billion in aid for K-12 schools (the CARES Act distributed 13.2 billion).

We reached out to several superintendents to ask how these funds will be spent in contrast to CARES Act funding, but few responded, mostly saying that it’s too early to tell.

Humboldt County Office of Education Superintendent Chris Hartley told the Outpost in an email that most districts continue to face needs in distance learning, but are looking onward toward reopening and addressing learning loss. “General areas of need for most our districts are around increasing technology access for students and families that are in geographical areas of limited internet availability (including hardware/software), student meals, continued COVID-19 related safety equipment, potential facility upgrades related to HVAC and/or ventilation systems, looking boost to after school and possible summer remediation programs, staffing and professional development,” Hartley said.

““We’ll definitely be using some of that money to add opportunities for kids, whatever that could be — whether it’s tutorial, or whether it’s actually more sections so we can have more courses offered to help kids catch up.”
— Roger Macdonald, Northern Humboldt Union High School District superintendent

A couple superintendents reached for this story said that the federal stimulus funding will be spent similarly to how CARES funding was spent.

“The funds will assist us to maintain the quality of services we have been offering while attempting to address aspects associated with potential learning loss,” Heidi Moore-Guynup, McKinleyville Unified School District superintendent said in an email in regard to incoming federal relief aid. Their district, which has stuck to distance learning so far, is looking at a summer school opportunity, Moore-Guynup said, which would address learning loss.

At the Northern Humboldt Union High School District, CARES funds bought technology, internet devices, PPE, air purification systems and on-site intervention for students in need of in-person support during distance learning. And with the new semester, they’ve launched a credit-recovery class for students who have fallen behind during COVID, which was also paid for in part with CARES funds.

“That was the gist of it: What did we need for distance learning, and what do we need to do to prepare for having our kids come back on campus,” Superintendent Roger Macdonald told the Outpost.

With more funds to come, Macdonald’s assessment of how new money might be spent reflects progression of COVID in education. With distance learning equipment now accounted for, the focus continues to be on what the district needs for returning to campus (such as hand washing stations or more PPE, Macdonald explained). But in addition to that, the district will also use “a big chunk” to further address the impacts of distance learning, by instituting programs similar to the one NoHum introduced earlier this month.

“As we look at the grades, if we see that students have fallen way behind, we may need to use some of that money to hire more teachers or pay teachers to teach an extended day,” Macdonald said. “We’ll definitely be using some of that money to add opportunities for kids, whatever that could be — whether it’s tutorial, or whether it’s actually more sections so we can have more courses offered to help kids catch up.” Macdonald added that these are initial thoughts, and there are other directions the funds might go as well.

Humboldt’s, California’s and the nation’s infection rates are far higher now than they were at the beginning of the school year, but a lot has changed since then. Most monumental is vaccinations. Education and childcare workers are in line to be vaccinated during phase 1B, which is projected to happen early- to mid-February. Many districts have addressed logistical setbacks to reopening by updating outdated filtration and ventilation systems.  

At the NoHum board meeting this month, trustees voted to move forward with reopening schools five or six weeks after staff have had the opportunity to get their first dose of vaccine, with the health department’s approval. At the meeting, Macdonald noted that whether the district can reopen will depend on the county’s infection rates at that time. In their company is the Eureka City School District, which earlier this month also passed a motion to reopen once staff have been vaccinated, on an estimated date of February 22.

At the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, only 10 schools opened with in-person instructional models. Now there are 55 schools in Humboldt offering either in-person or hybrid instruction, according to this spreadsheet, which is regularly updated by the Humboldt County Office of Education. With the help of federal and (maybe) state funding, more are planning to follow.