The Southwest Licking Education Association wrote to the Licking County Health Department commissioner to express their grave concerns about reopening schools for in-person instruction given the accelerating spread of Covid-19 in Licking County. They cited data from the Harvard Global Health Institute, the state health department, and the Licking County Health Department itself showing "orange" and "red" risk levels indicating significant community transmission. Given inadequate safety measures and the reality of viral spread in school environments, the teachers' association believes distance learning should start the school year to protect students, teachers, and families.
The Southwest Licking Education Association wrote to the Licking County Health Department commissioner to express their grave concerns about reopening schools for in-person instruction given the accelerating spread of Covid-19 in Licking County. They cited data from the Harvard Global Health Institute, the state health department, and the Licking County Health Department itself showing "orange" and "red" risk levels indicating significant community transmission. Given inadequate safety measures and the reality of viral spread in school environments, the teachers' association believes distance learning should start the school year to protect students, teachers, and families.
The Southwest Licking Education Association wrote to the Licking County Health Department commissioner to express their grave concerns about reopening schools for in-person instruction given the accelerating spread of Covid-19 in Licking County. They cited data from the Harvard Global Health Institute, the state health department, and the Licking County Health Department itself showing "orange" and "red" risk levels indicating significant community transmission. Given inadequate safety measures and the reality of viral spread in school environments, the teachers' association believes distance learning should start the school year to protect students, teachers, and families.
The Southwest Licking Education Association wrote to the Licking County Health Department commissioner to express their grave concerns about reopening schools for in-person instruction given the accelerating spread of Covid-19 in Licking County. They cited data from the Harvard Global Health Institute, the state health department, and the Licking County Health Department itself showing "orange" and "red" risk levels indicating significant community transmission. Given inadequate safety measures and the reality of viral spread in school environments, the teachers' association believes distance learning should start the school year to protect students, teachers, and families.
Licking County Health Department 675 Price Rd., Newark, OH 43055
Dear Mr. Brown,
We are writing on behalf of the members of the Southwest Licking Education
Association. We love teaching the students of Southwest Licking Schools and look forward to seeing their faces each day as we work closely with them in the classroom. As we prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, however, we are gravely concerned that Covid-19 is expanding rapidly across our state. We believe gathering students and teachers together in aging buildings for entire school days will spread the virus among all members of our education community and beyond. We believe teachers will be walking into a situation in which keeping people safe will prove too difficult to manage.
At our current level of spread, the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI) metrics for Covid suppression places Licking County in “orange”. This risk level indicates “Accelerated Spread” and advises “stay at home orders and/or rigorous testing and tracing of cases”. Allowing our schools to open for in-person instruction goes directly against this recommendation. Additionally, your website states “Due to a current limited supply in COVID-19 test kits, The Licking County Health Department is only able to test First Responders and Medical Workers at this time. When more test kits become available, we will be sure to inform the public of those expanded testing capabilities.” This indicates that the second guidance from the HGHI is also unable to be met, leaving our teachers scrambling to find their own testing as the virus spreads throughout the schools while our health department is “still without adequate testing”.
The State of Ohio, furthermore, has placed Licking County at a Level 3 public health emergency. The only things keeping Licking County from being at Level 4 are the hospitalization indicators, which we understand are lagging indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the governor stated just today that Licking County is remaining in red because the cases per 100,000 are much higher than acceptable according to the CDC guidelines. The State Health Department makes it a point to note that “more than 73% of the cases were not in congregate settings, signaling significant transmission in the broader community.” And while the metrics used to determine these state color advisories can be debated, they clearly place our county in the larger context of exponential viral community spread. Looking at this bigger picture, we see exactly what our school buildings will face as we return. Students and staff will become infected.
Additionally, your own COVID-19 Epidemiology Report published on July 17, 2020 includes the breakdown of active cases in a variety of ways. And no matter how it is reported, the majority of zip codes and cities are red and yellow, indicating increasing or no change in the number of cases. No matter which data report you look at, the conclusion is the same. The virus is spreading in our community at an increasingly rapid rate; we are headed in the wrong direction. And considering the school environment of inadequate ventilation systems, only 3 feet of distance, the lack of appropriate PPE for working in such close conditions, and many other factors unique to schools, we fear the rate of infection will be even higher than what we are seeing in the community. The reality of the school environment is, in many ways, similar to some of the congregate living settings where we have seen disturbing rates of virus spread. We demand better for our schools.
It is also important to note that the Hartford Fair, the beloved event which draws many families in our district and from across the state, will be taking place for over a two week period merely days from students’ first day of school. This event has scheduled many grandstand events and concerts, sure to draw large crowds. Governor DeWine just cautioned our citizens against events like these as having the potential to spread the virus. Yet we find ourselves being put in a position to teach many of those in attendance, merely days after attending these events. This doesn’t even allow for the 14 days for symptoms to present themselves before students are brought together under one roof. This is beyond alarming!
Due to these reasons and many others, we believe that the Licking County health department should recommend a distance learning environment to start the year for all Licking County school districts. While you would be hard-pressed to find a teacher who prefers to teach remotely, we do not want our students to get sick nor pass this virus on to our loved ones. With the level of viral spread in Licking County, it is almost assured that despite our best efforts, infection will take place in schools, leading to terrible health outcomes for those we care for. We love our students and cannot wait to teach them in person. But our communities and our schools must be in a better place before we make that step. This pandemic won’t stop at school walls, especially as it spreads throughout our county.
We urge you to follow the lead of Columbus Public Health. The CPH in a letter to Columbus Public teachers, stated that there should be four consecutive weeks of case declines before schools can be reopened. Unfortunately, we in Licking County are not there yet.
In these times of worry and uncertainty, we are looking to our leaders to keep us safe, no matter how difficult these decisions are. Please reconsider your guidance for Licking County schools to keep students, teachers, school staff, and all of our families safe.
Sincerely,
Southwest Licking Education Association Executive Committee Michele Bowers,
