Whitmer Asking Panel To Recommend If To Open Schools In The Fall

It is interesting that Governor Whitmer is creating and asking a 20-person panel to recommend if and how to open Michigan's K-12 schools.  This panel is officially named the Return to Learning Advisory Council.  The Council will include students, parents, front-line educators, administrators as well as public health officials.

Students?  What exactly will they be able to contribute to the council?

Whitmer in a statement wrote:

It’s critical we bring together experts in health care and education, as well as students, educators and families to think about how and if it’s possible to safely return to in-person learning in the fall and how to ensure the more than 1.5 million K-12 students across Michigan get the education they need and deserve

Interesting that she chose the words “if it’s possible”.  Science is telling us that children are not as harshly affected by this virus as the Flu is. The CDC found:

As of April 19, 2019, a total of 186 pediatric deaths had been reported to CDC during the 2017-2018 season. This number exceeds the previously highest number of flu-associated deaths in children reported during a regular flu season (171 during the 2012-2013 season). Approximately 80% of these deaths occurred in children who had not received a flu vaccination this season.

Yes, 80% did not receive a vaccination but 20% did.  That would mean 37 children died of the common flu after being vaccinated during that one flu season.

Whitmer went on to say in the statement:

This panel will use a data-informed and science-based approach with input from epidemiologists to determine if, when and how students can return to school this fall and what that will look like.

I hope not the same “data-informed” and “science-based approach with input from epidemiologists” that caused her to decide to allow people who work in the road construction business to work but not allow people who work in the home construction business to work.  Or caused her to decide to decree abortions as essential surgical procedures but hip/knee replacements or biopsies are not. Or caused her to decide to allow the sale of paint in businesses that occupy less than 50,000 square feet but not businesses larger than 50,000 square feet.

When addressing whether schools would open in the fall or not she said it depends if the residents of Michigan adhere to her stay-home orders:

It's dependent on how we perform in the interim...The facts and actions of the people of Michigan are going to dictate that.

Ok, thanks Mom.  It sounds like when I was a child and I would ask my mother and father if we will be going somewhere cool during summer vacation and they would tell me it depends how good you and your brothers will be during the school year.

This Council/Panel is tasked with:

• Performing outreach to make sure everyone's voices are included in the discussion of how the 2020-2021 school year will take place.
• Ensuring experts in public health and epidemiology are informing the discussion of safely returning to school.
• Recommending actions to remove statutory/administrative barriers to delivering education before day-to-day life is back to pretty much normal.
• Recommending actions to develop and improve systems for remedial support for students who experienced learning loss during the spring and summer.

So boys and girls please be good this summer and follow Mom's orders or she may not open the schools this fall.