By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


The superintendents of the county's six public school districts have issued a statement in the wake of Friday’s ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court invalidating Gov. Whitmer’s legal rationale for extending a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The statement, issued late Sunday was from the superintendents of the Brighton, Fowlerville, Hartland, Howell, LESA and Pinckney school districts. It noted that while the decision provides clarity on Whitmer’s scope of authority, “it has caused some confusion with the strategies that have been implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19” in area schools, and that to date, “these strategies have prevented the transmission of COVID-19 in our schools and allowed all public schools in the county to provide several weeks of in-person learning.”

They say that moving forward; their goal is to retain in-person learning for the families that have selected that option and that they are not deviating from their current approach and will continue to utilize their various Preparedness and Response Plans to guide response efforts with what they called an “unprecedented situation." All of the districts have allowed some mixture of both in-person and virtual learning for their students, with options for students to remain fully remote.

The superintendents said they anticipate the state legislature and Michigan Department of Health & Human Services to provide guidance in the coming weeks.

Since the school year began, both Hartland and Howell high schools have had to temporarily close their doors after students tested positive for COVID-19, with various other districts having to send students home and quarantine others as cases have been confirmed.