We need to start the upcoming school year online.

COVID-19 cases are rising in Wisconsin.

At the time of this petition, Brown County has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases, trailing the second most infected county by only 39 cases. 

In March, the schools were closed while Wisconsin COVID-19 cases were peaking around 200 new cases a day. Now, our state is experiencing almost 1,000 new cases a day. If school was not safe then, then it certainly is not safe now. 

Many students on campus commute between class and home each day. Re-opening schools would not only expose students, but would expose their families as well. 

Dorms can also be very dangerous. The dorms are small and have many people living very closely together. There are also many communal necessities such as bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms that students have no choice but to share. 

Dining on campus poses a great risk as well. It is not uncommon to have hundreds of students flooding the union and various food locations around campus during lunch time.

The safety of our community should be the top priority, however, opening schools at this point would put everyone at unnecessary risk. 

While many fear falling behind in their education, keeping students and staff safe, healthy, and alive needs to be the top priority.  

We cannot use students and staff to test out how safe a full re-opening will be. 

We must take action to keep our students, staff, and community safe.