COVID-19 concern rising after third positive test at Burney Elementary

December 9, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

BURNEY, Calif. — Burney Elementary School Principal Marcy Schmidt yesterday confirmed that three students have now tested positive for COVID-19 and have been sent home to quarantine. Additionally, about 100 – nearly one-third of the school’s 359 enrolled students – who may have come into contact with those who tested positive have also been sent home to quarantine as a precautionary measure, Schmidt told SCNS this afternoon.

Burney, a small mountain town of just 3,200 residents, is located in the Intermountain area, about 65 miles east of Redding in Shasta County.

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School officials were contacted by Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency officials Thursday morning, Dec. 3rd, and notified that a first grader enrolled at the school had tested positive.

Fall River Joint Unified School District’s Nurse Kim Golczinski was immediately notified and responded to the school to begin the tedious, but vitally important process of contact tracing and symptom screening.

Contact tracing is the process of determining every person the COVID-19 positive student could have come into contact with. This would include immediate classmates and daily contacts such as school-yard friends, teachers, and all other staff members. Other potential incidental contacts, such as anyone the child may have been inside the bathroom with or ridden on the bus with, were also considered and evaluated.

During this process Nurse Golczinski and other staff and administrators used the HHSA’s guidelines and protocols to screen those and all other students and staff-members for potential COVID-19 symptoms and exposure.

Some, but not all, of the symptoms screened for include a fever, sore throat, cough, or headache; many of which mimic the symptoms of an ordinary cold or flue. (See chart below.)

Based on the information gathered during initial contact tracing and the individual screenings, administrators made the decision to quarantine every student from both of the school’s first grade classes.

Within hours, school administrators had begun the lengthy process of notifying each of the families whose students were being sent home, even bringing in additional office staff and other resources to assist with the notification process.

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The very next day, staff learned of two more positive tests including a third grade student and then a kindergartner. Based on the new information and subsequent contact tracing and individual screenings, the entire kindergarten class was sent home that day.

The health screening process also identified additional students from each of the school’s other grade levels, who were eventually sent home to quarantine.

About the large number of students sent home, Schmidt told SCNS today, “In trying to maintain student safety, we may over-identify those needing to quarantine,” adding that the school’s primary concern is and will always be the health and welfare of their students.

To help ease parent’s and other local resident’s concerns, Schmidt yesterday sent out a message that provided the community with information and details about the positive tests and subsequent quarantines, as well as how the situation was being handled.

Schmidt also explained that the school is continuing to take all necessary precautions, such as enforcing hand washing, social distancing, and following all other provided and known guidelines to combat the virus’ spread.

Schmidt said that when or if new cases are reported or suspected, the school will continue to send announcements to those specifically effected.

“Some announcements will come via text, others both text and voice,” Schmidt explained; saying, “Some people have not chosen the text option so on some messages, you’ll get both text and voice.”

“Voice messages are always sent after school hours – except in an emergency – to try to spare families that moment of fear that something happened at school,” Schmidt continued.

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To assist with the quarantined student’s ongoing education, Schmidt said the school has been providing learning packets and Chrome Books to the families of each of the effected students. Packets were handed out to first graders on Monday, followed by the kindergarten and third grade classes, as well as any other students on Tuesday. Packets and Chrome Books were still being handed out today to those needing them.

Because FRJUSD provides free meals to all elementary students, Schmidt reminded parents that breakfast and lunch will still be provided daily for their quarantined students and other off-site learners. Those daily meals can be picked up from 10:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. each morning at the school’s outdoor café door.

Anyone with further questions or concerns can contact District Nurse Kim Golczinski at (530) 335–2983 and leave a message.

For more information visit Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency.

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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.