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The decision comes nearly three weeks after a special board meeting Nov. 18 where the board approved moving middle and high school students to virtual learning through mid-January while keeping the younger students in school.

The topic was revisited Tuesday in a spirited meeting during which the board voted against moving elementary school students online in a 5-4 vote.

Board members Karl Dommershausen, Cathy Myers, Steve Huth and Dale Thompson voted in favor of going virtual; Greg Ardrey, Jim Millard, Lisa Hurda, Michelle Haworth and Kevin Murray opposed the motion. After the vote, Thompson said he meant to vote to keep students in person but accidentally voted against it, which would have resulted in a 6-3 final tally.

Myers, a teacher in another district, said she thinks it’s time to make a change.

“I think we’ve done everything we possibly can to try to keep our students and our staff safe, and I think we’ve given it our best shot, but I also think it’s time to say this is bigger than us,” she said. “And we need to follow the recommendation that the health department has asked us to and pivot to virtual until two weeks after the break. I know it’s hard, but it’s not forever.”

Multiple board members said they have lost sleep over the decision, adding they wanted to do what is best for students and staff. Hurda and Ardrey argued against moving to an online model for elementary school students, citing possible struggles among low-income students and those without a support system at home.

Ardrey said it would be a “travesty” to have any of the district’s youngest learners sitting home alone struggling with their homework with no way to get help.

Haworth said the online learning platform SeeSaw is not easy for her child, a fourth-grader in the district, to navigate.

She also cited the county’s virus data and argued the rate of new cases has decreased since the board’s last meeting when it voted to keep elementary learning in person.

“The data just isn’t there,” she said.

A second motion put forth by Myers to shift only third- through fifth-graders to online learning also failed in a 4-5 vote.

A handful of teachers spoke at the meeting, and most were frustrated.

Alyssa Peterson, a first-year kindergarten teacher at Adams Elementary School, said she wanted to work in a Janesville school after hearing good things and graduating from the district.

“I do realize that learning virtually is not the best academic choice for our students, but that’s not the only aspect that goes into this decision,” Peterson said.

“Our students’ health and safety is also an extremely important priority, especially because we’re in the middle of a global pandemic. This means we need to do what is best overall for all of the staff and students.”

Peterson said the district’s response to COVID-19 and its decision not to switch delivery models in the elementary schools sometimes has her questioning her decision to work in the district.

Richard Gardner, a teacher at Franklin Middle School, spoke in favor of in-person education and read a letter from one student who asked the board to consider a return to the classroom for middle school students.

Teacher Laura Mattison cited a staff survey of 150 elementary school teachers that showed 62% of them wanted to go to virtual instruction.

Sue Shotliff of Roosevelt Elementary School said staff are worn out.

“This is just not sustainable,” Shotliff said. “The stress, anxiety, increased staff workload and worry for our families, as well as our students, is over the top.”

Huth, the board president, said he hopes the community understands that the board is doing the best they can and that teachers continue to serve the kids. He thanked staff for continuing to provide for students during a difficult year.

He also expressed disappointment in the response of some staff members, and Murray agreed. Murray cited one email in which a teacher compared the district’s decision to keep elementary students in school to 9/11.

Huth hopes that regardless of the decision made Tuesday, staff will continue to serve students and thanked those who sent support or suggested solutions.

“If they’re not going to serve the kids with their full extent for the next two weeks, that makes me nervous. ... I’m hopeful that we come out of January with a better attitude from everybody who sent these emails,” Huth said.