EDITORIAL: Keeping kids in class, and on court

Published 2:15 pm Friday, January 7, 2022

The current school year has been pretty normal for Baker School District students.

They’ve studied in their classrooms.

They’ve played sports and engaged in other extracurricular activities that are such an integral part of school.

And although the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a potential threat to the continuation of this refreshingly typical school year, interruptions are hardly inevitable.

Mark Witty, Baker Schools superintendent, had an appropriate take on the situation. In an interview with the Herald this week, Witty said that despite a call from state officials for schools to consider curtailing extracurricular activities, Baker schools will continue to operate as they have been so long as that’s feasible.

Omicron is boosting the number of cases. But evidence is mounting that it’s much less virulent than the delta and earlier variants. And, as has been true throughout the pandemic, the virus poses a minuscule risk to healthy children.

Witty acknowledged that rising infections among school staff could challenge the district’s ability to keep up a normal schedule. His advice for reducing the chance of that happening is wise for all of us — wear masks in crowded indoor settings, maintain distance if possible, and most important, if you feel ill, stay home. Vaccines also reduce the likelihood of severe illness.

— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor