We are in a unique moment. COVID cases are rising due to the more contagious delta variant. More children are being hospitalized. Some are dying. Even those with mild cases can suffer months later with the debilitating symptoms of long COVID—the consequences of which could last a lifetime.
 
We are all part of a community. We love our children and we want our schools to remain open. To that end, I request that you please bring back a mask mandate for students and staff this fall. Children under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated. They need our help. We know masks work. They decrease transmission by blocking the droplets that carry the virus. They are simple, effective, and our kids rocked them last year. They can do so again.
 
We all need to look out for the most vulnerable among us. There are kids in the district with cancer, or suppressed immune systems, or complicated medical histories. They deserve our protection and our care, as does every child. Every child.
 
Public schools have a mandate to do what’s best for the health and well-being of all of its students. The CDC, the AAP, and the WHO all agree that what is best for schools in the fall of 2021 is to have multilayered mitigation strategies, including universal masking. We ask our kids to wear seatbelts, to observe speed limits, and to stay away from illegal drugs. These are things we do to keep them safe, and because they are the right things to do. We protect our kids from harm. Even when it is difficult.
 
Masks should be required of all students and staff again, now that we know that even vaccinated people can pass the virus to others. It is not what we wanted to happen, but it is where we are. Hopefully it is a temporary measure.  It is the smart and responsible thing to do. Other districts in the area are choosing to require masks in their schools this fall, including South Beloit, Stoughton, Mount Horeb, Verona, Sun Prairie, and Madison. 
 
“Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.” (Mark 12:31)
 
Let’s do what is right, Milton.
 
Sincerely,
 
Dana P. Murphy

Mother of three awesome Milton kids with a high-risk grandpa