Shawnee Mission school board rejects science, data as Johnson County omicron surges
What were members of the Shawnee Mission Board of Education thinking by refusing to implement mask mandates for high school students returning from winter break? By rejecting the advice of Johnson County health officials to require masks for secondary students for at least a two-week period beginning this week, the board failed to protect students and staff and put the larger community in danger of contracting COVID-19.
What’s the point of waiting on a positivity rate of 3% or more inside a building to implement a mask mandate? The rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is inevitable, health officials said. The school board has a duty to protect its students and stakeholders, but it failed by voting Monday to maintain its current policy, which requires masks at the elementary level only.
“Omicron is as transmissible or as infectious as the measles,” Elizabeth Holzschuh, the epidemiology director at the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, told the school board.
Measles, of course, is one of the most infectious viruses known to mankind. It has been kept under control for decades due to mass vaccination. The same can’t be said for the novel coronavirus, but what health experts already know is that masks are part of a layered approach to help slow the spread of the virus. Vaccination, good hygiene habits and social distancing also can reduce the spread.
But don’t tell that to the Shawnee Mission school board, which failed to put the safety of students and staff first. By saying no to a mask mandate, the school board rejected an appeal from a group of more than 200 Kansas City area medical professionals who signed a letter imploring local school boards to enact or keep mask mandates for all in place.
“I tried,” board President Heather Ousley posted on Facebook after a contentious special meeting to address the district’s mitigation plan for the second semester. “It’s not enough. I’m worried about my own vulnerable child. I am thankful for the experts who agreed to answer questions tonight. I am sorry we didn’t follow their (advice).”
On Thursday, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners will consider repealing its mask mandates for school children in grades K-6. The board of county commissioners has been pressured to end the requirement. It would be a short-sighted mistake to cave now. Positive cases have surged in recent weeks.
At the height of the pandemic last year, 400 to 450 people per 100,000 residents in Johnson County were infected with COVID-19. This year, the number stands at 637 per 100,000 residents, Holzschuh said. The positivity rate in Johnson County is an astounding 21.5%, “which is probably double of what we’ve seen,” Holzschuh added.
Remote or virtual learning is no longer available to school children in the Sunflower State thanks to a Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature, which passed an asinine bill that forbade the practice for more than 40 hours. The measure was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Students in Shawnee Mission and all over Kansas will undoubtedly miss out on valuable lessons if a teacher shortage follows. Remember, educators are human beings susceptible to the same communicable diseases as the rest of us. Teachers have been put in an untenable position by a Shawnee Mission school board unable to agree on the best course of action. The motion to consider requiring masks at the high school level failed by a 4-3 vote.
Barely five minutes into Monday’s three-hour debate, the meeting was adjourned due to unruly guests who interrupted Holzschuh’s presentation multiple times. The heckling continued after a short recess and the meeting was adjourned again. The board moved to a virtual meeting after that and still couldn’t come to a consensus on the mask mandate.
The board did leave in place its test-to-stay option for unvaccinated children or staff who come in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the highly contagious disease. Those exposed to the coronavirus must test every other day for seven days with negative results to remain in school. The Shawnee Mission School Board got that right at least.