As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the state and country, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District has stated that its plans to reopen in-person learning on Jan. 5 remain in effect. However, more than half of district families have stated a preference for maintaining remote learning.

According to declaration forms submitted by SRVUSD families as of Tuesday, with 96% of families reporting in, 59.73% of families with elementary aged students and 72.59% of families with secondary school students have stated a desire to remain with remote learning over in-person.

The remaining families voiced a desire to have their students return to the district's hybrid in-person learning model.

"We are proceeding with our plan, so we are organized for any eventuality. In other words, our schedules will reflect who wishes to return to in-person learning and who wishes to remain remote. This is very important so that our students do not have to prepare for any further interruptions down the road," district officials said in a statement.

"We are planning to open our schools to hybrid in-person learning on Jan. 5, 2021. The Board has the authority, under present circumstances, to make a different decision if required," they added.

District officials also released a full list of school response rates that residents can view on the SRVUSD's website.

Out of the responses listed so far, Dougherty Valley High School has the highest rate of families wanting to continue with remote learning at 91.91%, followed by Windemere Ranch Middle School with 86.57%.

On the other end of the spectrum, 72.65% of families at Rancho Romero Elementary wished to return to hybrid in-person learning, followed by Vista Grande Elementary with 69.38%.

According to district staff, the SRVUSD is committed to the Jan. 5 reopening date, further adding that they have been given permission by Contra Costa County Health Services to proceed with the opening date -- barring any significant setbacks involving the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that a total of 28 counties -- including Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Napa, Santa Cruz and Solano counties -- will be moved into the most-restrictive purple tier according to the state's coronavirus reopening measuring system.

Making the move in order to stem a rapid increase in coronavirus cases documented throughout the state, the designation will further restrict the ability of businesses and community agencies to gather inside and in groups.

"At this time, SRVUSD's plan to reopen schools is not being impacted. In light of the fact that we were set and prepared to reopen, in consultation with (Contra Costa County health officer) Dr. Chris Farnitano, we are being allowed to proceed with Phase 2 of our reopening plan, on schedule," district staff said.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and we will work closely with our Board and community on future plans. For now, we will proceed as planned, with our safety precautions in place, and will strictly enforce those precautions on our campuses for the protection of everyone. Per the guidelines when in the purple tier, we will be increasing surveillance testing of staff," they added.