a note leading into tonight's meeting

[Sherri Bublitz - Hawktalkers Speech/Debate]

Good afternoon, School Board Members and Dr. Steinhaus,

I wanted to take just a moment to ask you to please reconsider the decision made at the last Board meeting.  I could give you all kinds of reasons for this, but I'll just give two:

1. Our son is a college student in Idaho.  He attends a small (100 person) college that decided to open in person this fall.  Parents were assured that not only was the state of Idaho one of the states with fewer numbers of Covid cases, but the town of Boise was "the lowest of the low."  The school enumerated all they had done to prepare for students: separating desks to the requisite six feet apart, putting students into individual bedrooms so they have a room to themselves, requiring masks and social distancing, re-arranging the dining room.....  Students were required to quarantine for two weeks before coming on campus.  Even with all that precaution, and the state being "ahead of the curve" overall, our son called last night to say that, no more than two weeks in, one of the young men in his dorm has come down with Covid.  Sometimes, all the precaution in the world cannot prevent this virus.  I now worry about our son contracting it.
2. This statistic keeps running through my mind: the governor has not reopened restaurants for indoor eating beyond 25% capacity.  Yet, even at 100% capacity indoors, no restaurant in Los Alamos will hold at any one time the capacity of students we will hold at 50% capacity in any one school.  I cannot comprehend how we can safely open schools when the potential for infection is far beyond that of restaurants, since we house students for longer periods of time in larger numbers than those restaurants.  While I appreciate the addition of the outdoor structures, they are not going to help us on days like what the next two days will be, nor much beyond early November.  

Please look at what we *don't* have - what ways we are *not* prepared - before deciding to open our schools again.  If you don't know, please ask - and keep asking until you are satisfied with the answer.  And then take a long, hard look at things like what has happened in Boise - a place that was supposed to be as safe as we are being told we are, as ready to open as we are being told we are.  

Finally, please remember: I am not just a teacher: I am also a constituent.  When you talk about representing those who elected you, remember that I am one of those who elected you, too.

Respectfully,

Sherri Bublitz, NBCT
Los Alamos Middle School
Drama

Speech

Hawktalkers Speech and Debate Team Coach

New Mexico Speech and Debate Association Secretary

Fall 2020 Catchphrase: “The road to success is paved with mistakes well-handled.” ~ Dan Coyle

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