Iowa City Community School District school board members approved five days of virtual learning Tuesday night, but cautioned the virtual days would be a “last resort.”

The board approved the five days in a 5-1 vote, with newly elected member Mitch Lingo the sole dissenting vote. Member Molly Abraham was absent from the meeting.

Lingo said national data suggests virtual learning didn’t work at scale, especially in marginalized communities.

“If there’s anything that we’ve learned, and subsequent educational policy, is that online learning doesn’t work,” Lingo said. “I would be remiss to not say there’s multiple nationwide samples …  in which online learning does not work at scale, especially in marginalized communities.”

Lingo also expressed his concern that the current Iowa City school calendar extended into June, meaning any more cancellations and make-ups could cause the school year to extend further into the summer.

Other members said although the calendar did extend into the summer, it also had flexibility. The option of using the non-school day of April 19 as a make-up day for missed classes was also discussed.

Another common issue was ensuring students had enough school days to receive instruction while balancing that with the schedules of parents and teachers.

Grace Olson contributed to this report.