Dear Blue Valley Board of Education:

Four days after suspending mask mandates in Blue Valley high schools, the district reported a tripling of active COVID cases. Since the November board meeting, we have seen more staff COVID infections than over the prior six weeks and more students home from school due to quarantine or illness than the entire month of October.

Today, Blue Valley’s COVID case rates are higher than at any point since the beginning of the pandemic. The conditions that supported the decision to suspend mask requirements in high school buildings are no longer true.

The Board of Education must convene an emergency meeting to respond to this unexpected surge. We urge you to reinstate masks in high schools following fall break.

Additionally, the district has been embarrassingly silent on this topic. As stewards of our schools, you have a moral duty to advise the community about this change in circumstances, and to prepare families for what risks we face in the event infection rates continue to climb and require building-level quarantines. We strongly urge you to clearly state our situation, constraints, and expectations for the district’s response.

Respectfully,

Concerned Blue Valley parents, staff, students and community members