Experts see path to safe school reopening in Michigan, but uncertainty lingers
Lansing — Michigan's 1.5 million students can safely return to classrooms this fall, but it will require a series of precautions within school buildings and potentially, additional restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19 outside of them, public health experts say.
With the first day of class seven weeks away, education officials report lingering questions about whether they'll have enough funding to implement needed safety measures, concerns that many parents will keep their kids home regardless and anxiety that's "off the charts."
Reopening Michigan's K-12 schools during a pandemic will be a massive undertaking, but superintendents across the state say it must be done.
Asked if he's feeling pressure, Steve Patchin, superintendent of the Hancock Public School District in the Upper Peninsula, the region with the fewest COVID-19 cases in the state, responded with a yes on Thursday, 47 days before his 700-student district's first day of class...