School officials will take steps to allow a guide dog in-training to remain in a Green Mountain Elementary classroom.
For the past nine years, teacher Cindy Jaquay brought a guide dog into her classroom to socialize the animal for the non-profit Guide Dogs of America program. Her current dog is a Yellow Labrador Retriever puppy named Bridget.
But after a risk assessment walkthrough done with the school’s insurance provider, Jaquay was told she needed to remove the dog from her classroom since it conflicted with school policy.
The Central Kitsap School Board reviewed their policy on animals at their Dec. 10 meeting and determined the dog could be allowed for its educational value if a specific, written plan was approved by the school’s principal, Thomasina Rogers.
The school’s policy on dogs was written with the idea that dogs and cats might be brought in briefly for one-time events such as show-and-tell.
“The other challenge we were having prior to this policy was that we had staff members bringing their pets to school because they didn’t want to leave them at home,” said David McVicker, district superintendent.
But, McVicker said, “If you look at the policy I think it’s got the capability to have a plan … and make an exception” for the guide dogs in-training.
“Animals can play an important part in education,” states district policy 6520. “Animals shall not be brought to school unless the educational value of the animals’ presence exceeds the risks and costs posed, and the principal has approved a specific plan, which addresses the length of time the animal is to be at school, the provisions for care of the animal,and for the health and safety of the animal, students, staff, and others.”
The policy is meant to reduce student exposure to allergens and other risks.
“Unfortunately, dog dander and cat dander is one of the things that’s very difficult to get out of your HVAC system,” McVicker said.
Service dogs for disabled people are allowed by the policy, but it doesn’t mention dogs being trained for service.
The board looked at other schools in the I-5 corridor and found none that specifically allowed for puppies in training in schools.
Board member Mark Gaines asked what the “educational value” of the dog was per the policy. He suggested adding a paragraph to the policy to allow guide dogs in-training from accredited organizations.
“I think having a service animal in the classroom is a great thing. I think it’s great for the students. (Jaquay) explained at the last meeting how you bring the dog down to the office and you talk to the students about what a service animals does, so there’s some value there. But if I am going to try to demonstrate to you that having a service dog in the classroom provides ‘an educational value that exceeds the risks and costs posed,’ I don’t know that I would be able to do that,” Gaines said.
“How do you calculate the risk to students with allergies? How do you calculate the risk that the dog couldn’t bite a student at some point? Probably highly unlikely but these kind of things do happen with animals occasionally,” Gaines said.
Board member Chris Stokke was skeptical of the educational value of the dog.
“What is our mission? Our mission is to educate kids in a safe environment,” Stokke said. “Educating service puppies is not our role.”
The policy lists three groups of animals. Dogs and cats are allowed for short visits with permission. Other animals such as hamsters and Leopard geckos are always allowed in classrooms. “Prohibited” animals such as pythons, alligators, piranhas and baby chicks are allowed for presentations if they are under the care of a professional handler and approved by the principal.
In other school news:
Richards to serve as board president
School board Vice President Bruce Richards was unanimously voted to be board president for 2015.
Gaines had served as president for the past two years.
McVickers thanked Gaines for his work and said his leadership had been admirable.
Energy plan could save district millions
The board approved a five-year contract with the energy conservation company Cenergistic to help the district reduce its energy costs. The contract is $277,850 per year to be paid for from the savings on utility costs.
The district estimates it will save $4.8 million via lower utility costs over a 10-year period using Cenergistic’s plan.
“It’s exciting. This is a great opportunity … us engineers, we get excited about this kind of thing,” said Richards, who is a retired nuclear engineer.
