By Heather Graves
Staff Writer
SUAMICO – Howard-Suamico Superintendent Damian LaCroix again called for the community to “stay the course” with the district’s current COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including mandatory masks for K-6.
“We have a plan that I think is working,” LaCroix said at the Oct. 25 School Board meeting. “It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s accomplishing the goal that we established, and by that I mean how can we keep the most number of students in school for face-to-face instruction that is consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations?”
LaCroix said keeping students in the classroom is “paramount.”
“How do we coexist with COVID-19?” he said. “How do we manage realistically the challenges and pressures that are facing us when it comes to mitigation strategies? I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, nobody has that figured out, and we again tonight heard a wide range of very strong, passionate opinions, and we are making the best decisions we can with the information that we have, focused on keeping our students in school and safe.”
However, as the district continues to see decreased quarantines and school-building spread since the mandate was enacted, LaCroix said the mandate would continue until the end of the semester, which coincides with the end of the second quarter on Jan. 21.
“From a consistency standpoint, right now in grades 7-12, those students, as you know, do have access to the vaccine, and that is one of the factors that has influenced that decision relative to both masking and quarantine,” he said. “Again, we are monitoring the spread… tonight I feel I can say with confidence the approach we are taking now is accomplishing the goal, again not perfectly and not (to everyone’s liking).”
In the two week period between the Oct. 11 board meeting and Oct. 25, Director of Communications Brian Nicol said the district has seen no additional positive staff cases, a drop in student quarantines and positive cases and a slight downward trend of community spread.
“Two weeks ago, the daily rolling average was at 434 cases per 100,000, virtually unchanged (now), however… It’s been a seven-day downward trend since last Monday,” Nicol said. “We’ve only had a seven-day downward trend one other time this year as we’ve been measuring the data. So that is certainly encouraging. We are at the same place we were two weeks ago at the last board meeting, but whereas we were in an upward trend, we are in a downward trend now of daily cases in Brown County.”
LaCroix said the course of action, at this point, is to maintain the district’s current strategies, but data will continue to be evaluated regularly.
“That would enable us to get through the cold and flu season,” he said. “That would enable students ages 5-11 getting access to the vaccination, and then we’d be in a position to potentially modify our course as we wrap up the semester. I don’t sit here tonight saying we have it all figured out. But, we are thinking hard, listening hard and trying to take informed action.”
LaCroix said the district’s updated quarantine policy will also continue, which doesn’t require testing or quarantining for asymptomatic close contacts.
He also said on-site, voluntary testing will become available next week.
Public comment
LaCroix said he acknowledges the passion the issue sparks.
“We are just trying to be as level-headed as we can,” he said.
The boardroom was again filled with dozens of parents, students, teachers and community members, many waiting for their turn to voice their thoughts on masks.
Bay Port Parent Karen Tooley expressed her frustration with the district’s current mask mandate of K-6 students.
“I think if we are all honest, let’s call a spade a spade,” Tooley said. “We are masking children to appease the parents who are afraid. That is all that’s left. It’s not mitigate risk for children. Children are not suffering from COVID-19. It’s not to protect grandma. Grandma has been vaccinated. It’s certainly not because the majority of your community believes in masking or wants masking.”
Meadowbrook parent Scott Stromberger said he is encouraged by how positive cases and quarantines decreased after the K-6 masks policy was implemented.
“It wasn’t like just a little bit, it fell significantly,” he said. “It showed the policy works.”
Stromberger said he’s frustrated with parents who are sending sick children to school.
“I want to be done with this year,” he said. “I don’t like my child wearing a mask either. I want her, and my son, to have a normal existence and have that social interaction, but I also want to keep them and every other student in the school safe… We have, what, a month-and-a-half until this vaccine comes out. Then you can make your choice. You can choose whether you have your child vaccinated or not. But don’t choose for me whether you are going to put her and him in a position where they can get sick. You don’t get to make that choice for me and my kids.”