MARQUETTE — Marquette Area Public Schools has created a COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan for the 2021-22 school year.

The plan, which does not include a mandate for wearing masks or being vaccinated, does include “strongly recommended wearing of masks,” Superintendent Bill Saunders said.

The plan is a collaborative effort of the Back to School Committee, district administrators and staff to inform students, parents and district personnel of MAPS’ plans for the school year, although the plan is considered a working document and likely to change as more relevant data becomes available, officials said.

The plan’s recommendations include:

≤ For online learning, Michigan Virtual School classes will be offered as an option for all students in grades 6-12. While students remain in a face-to-face setting, no district virtual options will be offered to K-5 students. In the event of a classroom, building or district-wide closure, MAPS will provide a distance learning program for affected students in pre-K-12.

≤ Facial coverings are strongly recommended to be worn by students and staff except during meals. They also are recommended to be worn by students, staff and bus drivers during transportation as well as students and staff in hallways and common areas.

Spectators at athletic events are urged to wear facial coverings and practice social distancing of 3 to 6 feet.

The expectations for the wearing of facial coverings, if required, and how to obtain clean facial coverings, will be included in a communication to staff and families.

≤ Adequate supplies of soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, paper towels, tissues and signs reinforcing proper hand-washing techniques will be provided to support healthy hygiene behaviors.

≤ Desks wil be spaced 3 to 6 feet apart in classrooms, space permitting.

≤ Students and staff who display COVID-19 symptoms are urged to stay home and monitor themselves for 24 hours. Students who display symptoms at school will be placed in a quarantine area with a surgical mask until they can be picked up.

≤ At this time, MAPS is not considering temperature checks before entering school.

≤ Staff should conduct daily self-examinations, including temperature checks, before coming to work.

≤ Indoor assemblies that bring students from more than one classroom together are not recommended.

The entire report, which was discussed at a Wednesday special meeting, is available at mapsnet.org.

Superintendent explains policy

Bryan DeAugustine, superintendent of NICE Community Schools, explained the district’s preparations for the 2021-22 school year regarding COVID-19 in a Tuesday letter to school district families.

“Right now, we are still on track to begin our new school year with no pandemic restrictions,” DeAugustine wrote.

However, he noted that staff remains in close contact with health professionals and monitors transmission rates, with the district prepared to make necessary adjustments if given new directions from the Marquette County Health Department.

“People ask me from time to time why our board and I cannot simply make decisions based on what we believe is best and not worry about our health department or governmental mandates,” DeAugustine said. “The two top reasons pertain to our qualified immunity and the fact that 75 percent of our funding comes from the state of Michigan.”

He said that if the school district ignored public health orders, he and the NICE Board of Education would lose their qualified immunity.

“That means if something went wrong, we could be personally sued for ignoring health orders,” DeAugustine said.

He said if local orders change or there’s a statewide school mandate, those orders must be followed even if they disagree with their efficacy.

“As far as funding goes, if the state of Michigan tells us to do something and we refuse, 75 percent of our operational revenue disappears,” DeAugustine said. “We raise about 25 percent locally to run our school year in and year out. We’d make it a few months without state revenue, but after that we’d have to eliminate a lot of our programming and we’d eventually have to close.”

He said the district will devise a way to make orders or mandates function so schools will remain open.

“We did it last year and we can do it again,” DeAugustine said.

Academy urges mask compliance

Michigan Academy of Family Physicians President Srikar Reddy on Thursday issued a statement urging Michigan school districts to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services guidance for requiring masks in schools this fall:

“As the new school year quickly approaches, Michigan’s family physicians strongly support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ guidance that all K-12 students and school personnel wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status,” the statement reads.

“Wearing a mask is essential for protecting those who can’t yet be vaccinated or are at higher risk of severe illness, hospitalization or death from COVID-19 due to other conditions. MAFP urges school districts and private school leaders to adopt mask requirements based on federal, state and public health guidance to protect Michigan youth.”

Fair precautions urged

A local health agency has recommended COVID-19 precautions for people attending the upcoming Upper Peninsula State Fair.

The fair is scheduled to start Monday and run through Aug. 22 in Escanaba.

Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties urges fairgoers to take precautions to protect themselves and the community against the spread of COVID-19, noting the spread of the delta variant across Michigan and the United States, including the U.P. and Delta County.

PHDM recommends:

≤ Staying home if you are sick.

≤ Wearing a mask over the mouth and nose while inside public buildings, in crowded outdoor settings and during activities that involve close contact with others.

≤ Whenever possible, maintaining a 6-foot separation between you and anyone who does not live in your household.

≤ Practicing good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after being in a public place, before and after eating, or after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

“Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties has provided portable hand-washing stations throughout the fairgrounds to make it easier for fairgoers to have a convenient place to wash their hands,” said Michael Snyder, health officer, in a statement. “Regular hand washing is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick and prevent spreading germs to others.”

Whitmer urges food support

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting actions to address food hardship and strengthen the food supply chain.

In her letter, she urged that the Thrifty Food Plan be updated to more accurately reflect the cost of a current standard healthy diet. The governor is also requesting that additional direct compensation payments to dairy farmers be expedited since this industry continues to deal with supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19.

“As we combat COVID-19 and continue to jump start our economy, it is important that we examine and eliminate vulnerabilities exposed by the pandemic up and down the food supply chain,” Whitmer said in a statement. “I am urging the USDA to consider these requests to address the real challenges Michigan families and farmers are facing.”

Whitmer said that nearly 1.3 million state residents rely on benefits to meet their food needs, but those benefits fall short of what’s needed to buy and prepare healthy foods. By making these changes, the USDA could further reduce food insecurity and help families and farmers across the state.

The letter also urged the USDA to address the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits “cliff,” which “unfairly punishes” low-income families, including those in Michigan, who can become ineligible for benefits because of a slight increase in income.

Revision of these benefits would promote economic mobility while reducing food insecurity, she said.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains have been dramatically disrupted, the governor’s office said. “Volatile” milk prices predating the pandemic and supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 have made it increasingly difficult for dairy producers to remain solvent, resulting in the loss of licensed dairy herds in Michigan and throughout the country, which is why the governor is calling for additional relief for Michigan dairy farmers as they work to bounce back from the pandemic, she said.

Whitmer stressed the importance of investing in the vertical farm industry in her letter, noting that the “the advantages are numerous: higher productivity in a much smaller area, shorter growing times, lower water use, reduced food-borne illness outbreaks and fresh produce grown much closer to where it’s eaten.”

She also asked the USDA to consider new programs and incentives to spur industry growth, including allowing vertical farm facility construction as an eligible entity under the $4 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan to strengthen food supply chains.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.