HOLLANDALE, Wis. — Pecatonica Area School District Superintendent and candidate for Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly held a virtual press conference today to discuss school re-opening and addressing the on-going COVID-19 pandemic in our community and our schools.
“Deb Kerr clearly did not read the research, and she is lying about what it says,” said Dr. Underly. “Simply put, the CDC recommended that schools open, if, and only if, we can mitigate the risk to students, families, and staff, through social distancing, strong mask requirements, frequent COVID testing, and improved ventilation and airflow.
“Here in Wisconsin, many schools have been open for in-person learning, including mine, because we can meet these requirements,” continued Underly. “But forcing schools to open that are too densely populated, are unable to social distance, and have aging HVAC infrastructure, is simply too risky. It should be up to local schools to figure out whether or not they have the wherewithal to open.
“The question is whether or not the state should force local schools to have in-person classes even if the district believes it cannot do so safely,” said Underly. “Forcing schools to reopen for in-person learning is simply irresponsible and wrong, and it shows how instead of putting science and kids and families first, Deb Kerr is pandering for political purposes.
“The other thing she fails to mention is that whomever wins this election, we don’t take office until this school year is over,” Dr. Underly continued. “Our goal should be to make sure that every school in the state is able to open for in-person learning this fall, by vaccinating every adult and creating safe environments in every school for students and their families.”
