Morrison County Public Health Update

On September 8, Morrison County Public Health reported an increase in cases that pushed the Covid-19 14- day case rate over the ratio of 10. As you may recall, the new formula used by the entire state to assist schools in determining Learning Models is based upon the number of new Covid-19 cases over the last 14 days, per 10,000 residents, per county.

The fact that our county number crossed this new threshold does NOT mean all schools in the county are required to change to the next level. Public Health officials notified all Morrison County districts today they are not recommending any immediate change.  Our county has formed a task force who continues to monitor the data which includes staff from all schools in the county.  We constantly evaluate the data by zip code so all schools can make a more locally informed decision.

You can be assured that we will not make any change from one Learning Model to the next without providing you adequate notice. For example, if a rapid increase in case numbers involves many students, we would likely make decisions as quickly as possible to protect your children and household. On the other hand, if there are increases in Covid case counts that might not impact significant numbers of students and families (like long term care facilities, or some other specific industry), we could take more time to evaluate the trend over time and continue our most effective educational models as long as we can.

We know this will be a year like none other as we all work together to do everything we can on behalf of children.  We are so happy to have this partnership with you as parents, as community members, and more than ever need to count on each other to communicate and share information knowing we all have what is best for our children as our number one priority.