Ptacek Concerned About Covid Restrictions Ahead of New School Year

By Jeremy Coumbes on July 23, 2022 at 6:00am

District 117 staff return to their facilities on August 15th, and with the new school year right around the corner, the district administration has some reservations going in.

Superintendent Steve Ptacek told the District 117 Board of Education that he is concerned about Covid heading into the new school year, just not for the same reasons he has had for the last two years.

We’ve received communications about there still being the executive order in place and mandating testing for those who are not vaccinated. And I’m a little concerned the states not going to give up on Covid limitations and restrictions.

I let the board know tonight that I would anticipate that if the state goes that way for lawsuits to happen. And my full recommendation right now based on the numbers I’m reading about and talking with medical professionals is that I don’t see why we’re at all treating Covid any different than the flu right now.”

Ptacek says District 117 has always maintained the position of following the state’s orders and letting the health professionals be the guide for educators. He says though, that he personally has some doubts about continuing to follow those recommendations now.

But there does come a time when where you say- and this is my opinion personally, this is not the board’s opinion, it seems to me that this is more political than it is science. I mean even the CDC just lessened cruise ship restrictions.

So I’m hoping that it’s just not on the state’s radar right now, and as school gets closer they’ll address it. But we have received communications talking about the executive order still being in place, and I’m not understanding that.”

According to the latest update from the Illinois Department of Public Health, Morgan County along with Green and Brown Counties are currently the only counties in West Central Illinois that are listed as having a low level of risk for community transmission of Covid-19.