Attending school should not be political fodder

Still reeling from the President's success at making a public health measure like wearing masks into a political statement, we should - every one of us - collectively scream NO as we watch him similarly lay forth the return to school on his political chopping block.

Here in Lake Zurich, I have watched congressional 6th District hopeful Jeanne Ives attempt the same - demanding summer camps, arguing kids don't get coronavirus, down playing with a radicalism for which she's known. But camps opened, and they are already closing here in Lake Zurich because kids are testing positive and arriving to camp with symptoms.

What are the costs of plowing forth into the school year and then having to backtrack as students and staff become infected? Thankfully, calmer heads prevail in our school boards and public health departments. These public servants are taking careful baby steps, making difficult decisions to balance the needs of so many across our community.

We all serve our community by continuing to recognize the complexity of our current challenges, demanding evidence-based problem solving and refusing to turn the start of the school year into political fodder. There is an easy calculus for this: reject those with simple answers.

Kendall Busse

Lake Zurich