County Executive Farrow Statement on Area School Responses to COVID-19

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow made the following statement on area schools and school district responses to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak:

“I have been in communication with schools and school districts throughout Waukesha County over the past several days as they grapple with how to address the COVID-19 outbreak and keep their students, faculty, and staff safe. I have worked closely with Benjamen Jones, the County’s Public Health Officer, and have reviewed both the State Department of Public Instruction’s recommendations, as well as those of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I support the school districts that have decided to, or are considering, closing their schools and districts for a period of time in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect their students, families, and staff. These are difficult decisions that will have a ripple effect not only on the students, but on parents and families as well.

"For a school that has yet to decide their course of action we are suggesting a three-fold approach. First, regardless of current health status of your students and staff, begin preparations for the eventuality that you may need to educate students via an online learning environment for a period of time. Second, if your school has a suspected case of COVID-19, the school should temporarily close to allow for deep cleaning of the facility pending the final test results. Finally, for a school that has a confirmed case of COVID-19, the County’s Division of Public Health will work with the school and district leadership to establish an appropriate path forward.

"These are challenging circumstances. Our goal is to proactively reduce the impact of this virus on our health care system and our most vulnerable residents. We appreciated the districts that have worked with us to develop this course of action.”

Information about Waukesha County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic may be found on the county’s website www.waukeshacounty.gov/COVID19 and on social media accounts. You may follow County Executive Farrow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CountyExecutivePaulFarrow/ and on Twitter @WaukeshaCoExec.