Indiana’s 8th District Candidate Thomasina Marsili on Reopening Schools in August

Spencer, Indiana On Sunday, July 12th, it was reported that a player on the Terre Haute South football team tested positive for COVID-19. As Indiana reopens, and sports practices resume, cases like this are popping up all around the state.

On June 26th, Arizona teacher Kimberley Chavez Lopez Byrd died from COVID-19 just two weeks after being hospitalized. Two other teachers are still struggling with the effects of the virus. Byrd’s husband, daughter, son, brother, 4-year-old granddaughter, and several other relatives also tested positive for the virus. According to the school district, all three teachers wore masks and gloves, practiced social distancing, and used hand sanitizer. The Department of Education has no plans to reopen safely. Without a national plan, schools simply cannot reopen safely.

Leaving school boards alone to handle the safe reopening of our schools during a global pandemic is dangerous and irresponsible. There are counties in the 8th district that have declined a mask mandate in the education setting. Not following guidelines and recommendations of the CDC will be catastrophic. The federal government needs to step up and create guidelines for a safe reopening of our schools.

We are aware and concerned of the effects this can have, but we need to put the safety of our constituents first. Using data from the Indiana State Department of Health, an estimated 382 students and staff will die from COVID-19 in the 8th district alone. In March, we saw a decline in school attendance when schools closed. Not because students and parents did not want to be involved, but because rural and low income districts do not have access to broadband or devices. We can get students meals, broadband, and devices, but we cannot get them to the hospital.