I don’t know about you, but we Yokels are exhausted. Daily we are bombarded with news that just keeps getting worse. Unwanted hysterectomies , meltdown by a top official, the west coast is on fire, it’s hurricane season and oh, don’t forget the pandemic is still very real. Sadly we just learned of the passing of the notorious RBG. Icon. 2020 just keeps on sucking.
The latest Maryland statistics show our numbers are increasing. Nevertheless, folks are clamoring for FCPS to start fall sports and send kids back to school. What data are the masses using to justify this change? Has anyone seen any data about Covid-19 in areas where sports are being played or where schools are open? How many deaths are ok? Are student or teacher illnesses more acceptable?Can we get transparency from our local health department about how many cases of Covid-19 have occurred since preseason training commenced?
Have you heard about Archbishop Spaulding? What is the logic of moving to virtual for 2 days? It will be interesting to see how that plays out. What about this poor coach, who was 29 years old?
I know we all want our kids to be able to get back to normal. But in case you haven’t noticed, nothing is fucking normal around here anymore, and there is no end in sight. Let’s try and learn something from the countries that had this under control and opened back up and are surging again.
Don’t just say, “All the states around us are doing it, we should too!” Let’s hope that the BOE and Superintendent Alban are using data and not feelings, not the other counties/states/countries are in school/playing sports are so we should too bandwagon. Otherwise, they are saying that teachers and students lives aren’t valuable and some of you guys are expendable. Mmmkay?
And let your voice of reason be heard, cause we’ve been hearing the BOE has been getting bombarded by the voices of the Covid deniers.
Current Board Members
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Brad W. Young, President, Board of Education |
brad.young@fcps.org |
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Jay Mason, Vice President, Board of Education Current elected term: December 2018-December 2022 |
jay.mason@fcps.org |
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Liz Barrett, Board Member |
elizabeth.barrett@fcps.org |
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Michael Bunitsky, Board Member |
michael.bunitsky@fcps.org |
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Lois Jarman, Board Member Current appointed term: January 2019-December 2020 |
lois.jarman@fcps.org |
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Rae Gallagher, Board Member Current appointed term: January 2020-December 2020 |
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Karen A. Yoho, Board Member Current elected term: December 2018-December 2022 |
karen.yoho@fcps.org |
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Mia Martinez, Student Board Member |
studentmemberboe@fcps.org |
frederick local yokel 
It is, “2020, known as the year of chaos “ from local (Elm Street properties “Cromwell” not being denied by FCC , Hogan wanting to open schools which remains unsafe and that fool occuppyingtheWH.
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I enjoy the localyokel and respectfully disagree with some of your points in this post. First this is not just about sports but all extracurricular activities being cancelled. You also cite that you hope the BOE uses data in their decision-making. The people requesting consideration for a return to the classroom and extracurricular activities have the same expectation. We have listened to the board meetings and the decision to postpone activities was made on emotion and not any actual data. Thankfully, Superintendent Alban suggested postponement as opposed to outright cancellation at one of these meetings. I am typically a supporter of the BOE but in this case they have not provided any quantifiable metrics for returning to classrooms or activities. What is the metric? Zero? If so, not going to happen for quite sometime, if ever. So what is the plan? The BOE has failed to clearly articulate one. Finally, many of those writing letters to the BOE are not COVID deniers. To the contrary. They are faithful and dutiful mask-wearers, physical-distancers and believers in science and data. They have done their part to help flatten the curve, and lower the positivity rate, hospitalizations, and deaths. They take COVID seriously. They also expect their elected leaders to lead, and in times of adversity, face the challenge and rise to the occasion. This has not occurred and they are asking for a plan and honesty. I do not think this is an unreasonable request to ask of our elected leaders.
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I agree that not all folks in Frederick County are behaving recklessly. Unfortunately, those that are will spoil everything for the rest of us. I think the Board has to consider that when determining metrics. There is not going to be a return to normal when students return to school. There is no magic light switch we can flip to go back to pre-pandemic normal times.
Asking our local leaders to to have a plan seems like a completely reasonable thing, but we have had no national leadership for this. We have been left to solve this issue from the bottom up.
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Reckless behavior typically manifests itself in data: smoking-related illnesses and deaths, traffic accidents and many similar daily activities result in available data and information to help set policies and inform the decision-making process. Reckless behavior as it relates to COVID should manifest itself in data such as positivity, hospitalization, and mortality rates. This is information, along with input from experts, that the BOE should use when developing a plan and making decisions. Not television reports or googled articles. They have had the former at their disposal but choose to ignore it and make their decisions based on emotion.
Those writing the BOE are fully aware that a return to a pre-pandemic normal is not a near-term option and there is no magical pixie dust to take us back in time. That is also not an excuse for the BOE to ignore their duties as elected officials. We are asking for a plan that identifies quantifiable metrics for a return to school and extracurricular activities, what those models look like (hybrid, etc.), how health and safety will be monitored in a “return” environment, and if we are backsliding, what corrective actions will be needed. We fully understand this will not be perfect, their will be bumps along the way, and we may even have to revert back to previous stages. However, the current operating procedure of being reactionary is not a plan for success.
The whole point at the beginning was to flatten the curve which has occurred. The BOE has had months to develop a plan and use new and evolving information and data to ibform their decisions, but for some reason has not been able to get its act together. I think that is what is frustrating and disappointing: the lack of leadership and vision.
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