LETTER: Covid is exploding in Grafton schools; our kids are not safe

To Ozaukee Press:
I am writing because Covid-19 cases in the Grafton School District are exploding at a rate3 times that of the community spread in October. Yet the School Board has taken the approach of relaxing mitigation measures.  

The rapid growth in cases corresponds directly with when the board decided to make masks optional and change mitigation protocols. And it is clear from the data that the spread is school related, not community related. The district is willfully ignoring medical advice and its own evidence that its policies are allowing the virus to fester in our children.

As a father of two young girls in Grafton schools and with over a decade of working in statistical research, I am absolutely appalled at the utter disregard for our kids’ well-being by the School Board. They are ignoring reality and just pretending that their policies are working.  

The board approved a reasonable, common sense approach at the end of August, but caved to an outspoken minority of parents who don’t believe in masking.  Decisions shouldn’t be made based on who yells at you the loudest, but on hard, verifiable data. This is not a “personal choice” issue; it is a medical and community issue.

The overarching theme of positive-case data is that spread of Covid in the school district area is school driven, not community driven, and that the board’s relaxing of protocols has drastically increased case rates and risk to our children. Based on this reality, I and other parents have implored the board to implement stricter Covid protocols in the schools, including mandatory masking, testing, quarantine, physical distancing and cohorting. The current plan is not sufficient to keep our kids safe. Yet the board has refused to listen.

Last year, school cases accounted for 18% of all community cases; this year they are over 31%. In September (when some masking was still mandated), district cases were 22% of all community cases; in October the district cases made up nearly 43% with one week remaining.

The number of community cases in October is 2.5 times greater than last year, while the number of district cases is 6 times larger than last year. Case rates in the schools are nearly 2 times higher after masks were made optional

There is a higher level of transmission in the district with more lax policies this year

We see spikes after masks were made optional. We see temporary reductions after school quarantines and masking went into effect. We see massive spikes after school-sponsored in-person, mask-optional events (homecoming, movie night, etc.). There are no similar spikes in the broader community data, proving it is school related. Just last Monday, the district had 5 times the cases it had for the entire week last year.

Kevin Steiner
Grafton