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September 25, 2020

Gabriel D. Pope, 20, 485 S. Buckingham Blvd., Whitewater, has been charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and disorderly conduct. If convicted, he faces up to 11 years and nine months in prison and $46,000 in fines.

Oscar U. Rodriguez, 33, 556 E. North St., Whitewater, has been charged with three counts of manufacture/delivery of cocaine. If convicted, he faces up to 37 years and six months in prison and $75,000 in fines.

Patrick P. Wollin, 33, 614 S. Franklin St., Whitewater, has been charged with bail jumping for allegedly having contact with a person in violation of a court order. If convicted, he faces up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

(City of Whitewater Public Service Announcement) The City of Whitewater – Water Utility will begin its semi-annual water main and hydrant flushing program on Monday, September 28, 2020, through Friday, October 2, 2020.  Flushing of water mains is necessary in order to continue to deliver clean, safe water to our citizens. If we have more repairs than expected throughout the week, we may have to continue flushing into the following week.

Flushing of water mains and hydrants can cause some discoloration of water. Caution should be exercised in washing of white clothing. Discoloration of water due to flushing WILL stain white clothing. We notify the public in all local media outlets; therefore, we cannot be responsible for stained clothing. If discoloration is detected, run the cold-water faucet until the discoloration clears. While we are still flushing in your area, the water may take a while to clear up. You may want to wait until we have left the area and the water settles down before running your water tap.  If reduced pressure is experienced after flushing, you may have to clean the aerators on your house faucets.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during water main and hydrant flushing.  Questions may be directed to the Water Utility at 473-0560.

WUSD School Board Approves Elementary In-Person and Secondary Hybrid Model

WHITEWATER, Wis. Sept. 24 — At its Wednesday, September 23 meeting, the School Board of the
Whitewater Unified School District voted to approve full in-person attendance at the elementary
level beginning Monday, September 28. At the secondary level (grades 6-12), a hybrid model of
in-person attendance two days per week will begin Monday, October 12. Until then, the middle
and high schools will maintain the current instructional model of primarily virtual with
small-group, in-person attendance.

For elementary students who requested transportation, route information will be posted to the
Infinite Campus/Parent Portal by tomorrow. A communication will be sent to families once it is
posted. Students in grades 6-12 who are attending for targeted, small-group instruction will
receive a call directly from Nelson’s Bus Service or the District with updated pick up times.

The next School Board level review of the instructional model will occur on Monday, October 26,
for possible implementation on Monday, November 2.

The Board also approved suspending utilization of a community-level metric. Instead, the
District will follow localized metrics to determine when a specific classroom or school shifts to
virtual learning. This will be the result of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 among students
and staff. Additionally, there may be instances when a classroom or school needs to shift tovirtual instruction due to staff absences and availability of substitutes.

Families of middle and high school students will receive a survey on Monday, September 28
that will include details about the hybrid model with a requested response by Wednesday,
September 30 at 5:00 p.m. The hybrid model for grades 6-12 will consist of two cohorts attending
on a rotating basis. For example, the first cohort would attend in-person on Mondays and
Wednesdays with the second cohort attending in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Virtual
instruction via Google Classroom will be provided when students are not attending in-person.
Friday will consist of virtual, synchronous (live with a teacher online) instruction as well targeted,
small-group, in-person instruction for students with disabilities and those with English Learner
needs.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

The Whitewater Unified School District board, over several meetings beginning July 27 has struggled with decisions regarding the safe reopening of the schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 10 the board adopted the Jefferson County Health Department guidance for school reopening, and on August 24 they accepted a revision to that document which recommended using a metric of average daily positive cases per 100,000 persons. That guidance indicated that if the county cases equaled or exceeded an average of 25 per day, instruction should be virtual. In Whitewater’s case, this metric would be based on blending the case index, which the State refers to as the burden, of Jefferson, Rock, and Walworth counties based on the residences of the student population.

On September 14 the board affirmed the plan to return to fulltime in-person instruction on September 28. By that time the blended daily rate stood at 16.48. By September 16, however, largely impacted by the return of UW-W students, that rate surged to 35.68, and as of the September 23 board meeting the rate was 40.49. Consequently the board on September 23 faced a decision as to whether to abide by the guidance and renege on the plan to reopen fully on September 28. The discussion repeatedly centered on the tension between safety versus the recognition that for most students in-person instruction is the optimum model.

District Administrator Caroline Pate-Hefty indicated that 76.82% of parents, representing 1286 students, had chosen in a recent survey to send their children to in-person instruction. The remaining parents chose virtual (online) instruction. 233 students had been approved to open enroll in other districts, with another approximately 70 having applied but not yet having been approved. At a cost of $8125 per student, those already approved represent a loss to the district of about $528,000.

Dr. Pate-Hefty indicated that thus far in the semester eight students had tested positive for COVID-19. She provided comparisons of the current burdens of the other UW System communities. Three of the districts had implemented in-person instruction when their burden exceeded 25, and four districts were currently providing either face to face instruction or a hybrid model while the metric is over 25.

The board listened for an hour to citizen comments, which represented a wide variety of opinions. At least six parents, while acknowledging that they would like to have their children back to in-person classes, stated that they had concern about the safety of going fulltime given the COVID incidence in the community. Four parents complained of what they perceived as yoyo decisions by the board on the reopening subject, which they stated was making things very difficult for parents. Parent Neil Hicks advocated returning to fulltime in-person instruction, stating that we’re going to be dealing with COVID for a long time and he felt that there is a lot of fear mongering. High school senior Cora Linos, in a recorded statement played by her mother, made an impassioned plea that the science is clear, that the risks are real, and to return to in-person classes at this time would be to say that students, teachers, and community members do not matter. “We do matter,” she implored. Parent Ryan Weston lamented that his children’s abilities are regressing due to the lack of in-person instruction.

There seemed to be agreement that virtual instruction was generally not working well for elementary age students. Although there was a desire to resume face-to-face instruction for the middle and high school students, the principals of those schools expressed concern about the inability to provide for social distancing simultaneously for the entire student body. Their recommendation was to begin with a hybrid “AB” model, where, for example, students with surnames starting with A-K would attend in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday, and the remainder of the students on Thursday and Friday. Classes would generally have about 10-12 students. The remainder of the week for each student would be virtual, with Wednesday providing the teachers time to assist students virtually who are having difficulty with the technology or with the assignments. Wednesday could also be a day for student clubs to meet virtually. A particular complication at the high school is that carpeting recently had to be replaced in several classrooms due to water damage, and there is a toxic odor that is not expected to clear until October 12.

A motion to provide fulltime face-to-face instruction for 4K through 5th grade beginning on September 28, and the hybrid model for middle/high school students to begin on October 12 passed on a 4-3 vote, with Casey Judd, Jennifer Kienbaum, and Jim Stewart dissenting. The motion included board review of the instruction methods at its meeting on October 26, with potential for implementation of any changes on November 2. Ms. Kienbaum had expressed the opinion that fulltime instruction should begin for all grades on September 28.

In response to a prior request from the board to consider live streaming of instruction for middle/high school students who would prefer that over the third-party virtual instruction, Dr. Pate-Hefty indicated that is would be necessary to purchase approximately $77,000 of equipment. Concern was expressed that the quality of in-person instruction might be diminished by splitting the teachers’ attention, and there was no action taken on the matter.

Finally there was discussion about whether the board had chosen to eliminate the “community-level” metrics for determining tiers of instruction. Steve Ryan expressed that he felt the metric had not been eliminated, but that the board had chosen to ignore it. A motion to suspend utilization of a community-level metric passed on a 4-3 vote, with Casey Judd, Steve Ryan, and Jim Stewart opposed. Though some concerns had been expressed about reverting to strictly classroom and school-level metrics, and there had been some effort to modify the Jefferson County metrics for WUSD, the only remaining metrics are:

Classroom-specific: If one student or staff is confirmed positive, the physical classroom closes for two days. If alternative space and staff are available, students and staff not in close contact may continue attending in person.

School-specific: Three or more confirmed positive cases among students and staff within a one-week (five day) period results in the school shifting to fully virtual for three days.

The meeting had convened at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned at 10:37.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
September 22, 2020

After a very dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases after the return of UW-W students to the community, the number of new positive cases appears to have stabilized, though at a very high rate.

At a special School Board meeting on Wed., 9/23 at 6:30 p.m., District Administrator Caroline Pate-Hefty will be asking the board members to revisit the community-level and school-level metrics for determining tiers of instruction (i.e. virtual/hybrid/face-to-face) and thresholds at which specific classrooms and schools will shift to virtual. The options that Dr. Pate-Hefty will be suggesting are shown on this document.

In summary, the community-level options are as follows:
Option A – No longer follow the Jefferson County Health Department recommendations for reopening schools (or any other community-level metric) for determining tiers of instruction. Return to full in-person instruction, as planned, on 9/28. It is not stated whether the district would continue to calculate/post the community incidence, nor whether there would ever be the possibility of shifting downward based on community conditions.
Option B – Continue using the Jefferson County Health Department guidance, and shift to full virtual instruction on 9/24 or 9/25.
Option C – Continue using the Jefferson County Health Department guidance, but modify the tiers of instruction as shown on this document. There are also suggestions regarding how to determine when it is appropriate to shift downward or upward based on changes in community activity levels. Begin following this model immediately or effective 11/2 based on data released on 10/21. In the latter case, it appears that the district would return to full in- person instruction, as planned, on 9/28, and remain in that model at least until 11/2 unless a top community incidence threshold is established whereby all students shift to the full virtual model.

The meeting will also include discussion on the virtual model at the secondary level.

By the way, the School District of Fort Atkinson is continuing to follow the Jefferson County Health Department guidance, resulting in a shift to all virtual instruction for at least eight days effective on 9/23 based on the Jefferson County incidence of 26.5.

Here is the access information for the Zoom board meeting on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88098916833?
pwd=WHY5clFBaFM3NW9ycGNFWnFXWTIrZz09
Passcode: 526561

Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
Webinar ID: 880 9891 6833
Passcode: 526561

Shown below is a summary of the historical decisions made by the board on community-level metrics, together with recent community statistics. It appears that if community-level Option A is chosen, these statistics will no longer influence the district’s instructional model decisions.

In July, the school district adopted a school reopening plan that targeted a 14 day COVID-19 weighted positivity rate of less than 8% for Jefferson, Rock and Walworth counties. Approximately 87% of the students in the district reside in Walworth County. As of 9/22, the rate for Walworth County, which has been strongly influenced by the rapidly rising positive test results in Whitewater, was 24.1%.

On August 24 the School Board adopted revised guidance, based on Harvard Global Health’s recommendation, from Jefferson County Health Department. The metric now being used is the 7 day daily case incidence per 100,000 people.

Daily Case Incidence: The daily case incidence number (per 100,000) will determine whether a jurisdiction is green, yellow, orange, or red COVID activity levels using the criteria described under the COVID-19 Risk Level definition below. This is calculated using a 7-day rolling average with a lag time of one day. This lag time may increase based on processing and reporting times for tests being conducted.

COVID-19 Risk Level Case Incidence
COVID Risk Level Case Incidence Red (Very High Risk ) >25 daily new cases per 100,000 people
Orange ( High Risk ) 10<25 daily new cases per 100,000 people
Yellow ( Medium Risk ) 1<10 daily new cases per 100,000 people
Green ( Low Risk ) <1 daily new case per 100,000 people

Per below, Walworth County’s 7-day case incidence is 36, clearly in the “very high risk,” or “red” level, although there has been a significant decline compared with the previous 7 days. (Whitewater is dramatically higher, at 158.1.) In the red risk level, Jefferson County’s recommendation is that all instruction should be virtual. However, on September 14 the School Board approved a return to full face-to-face instruction effective September 28 for those students whose families chose that method of learning instead of staying virtual. At that time the risk level was orange. It was intended that if the risk level rose to red, the board was to be informed, but their intention was to still plan for full reopening of the schools.

DAILY CASE INCIDENCE PER 100,000 PEOPLE – WALWORTH COUNTY

End Date	New cases/14 days	Incidence	New cases/7 days	Incidence
9/15	527	38.8	403	59.2
9/22	648	47.7	245	36

DAILY CASE INCIDENCE PER 100,00 PEOPLE – CITY OF WHITEWATER (WALWORTH COUNTY PORTION)

End Date	New cases/14 days	Incidence	New cases/7 days	Incidence
9/15	345	206.8	284	340.4
9/22	419	251.1	132	158.1

TEST POSITIVITY RESULTS – CITY OF WHITEWATER (WALWORTH COUNTY PORTION)

End Date	# Tests Reported – 14 days	# Positive	Positivity %	# Tests Reported – 7 days	#Positive	Positivity %
8/22	216	27	12.5%	103	6	5.8%
8/29	240	19	7.9%	128	13	9.2%
9/7	421	77	18.3%	274	60	21.9%
9/20	958	404	42.2%	571	204	35.7%

TEST POSITIVITY RESULTS – WALWORTH COUNTY

End Date	# Tests Reported – 14 days	#Positive	Positivity %	# Tests Reported – 7 days	# Positive	Positivity %	% of Those with Positive Results Who Reported being Asymptomatic	Total Deaths
8/22	2386	277	11.6%	1071	112	10.5%	11.4%	25
8/29	1972	210	10.6%	901	98	10.9%	11.1%	27
9/7	1953	228	11.7%	986	129	13.1%	10.9%	32
9/22	2689	648	24.1%	1249	245	19.6%	9.7%	34

UWW has established the following dashboard which provides useful information. It is found at this link.

COVID-19 Dashboard

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-changing situation and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater actively monitors and reviews a series of health, safety, and resource metrics to guide decision-making with regard to university operations. These metrics are considered in combination and consultation with recommendations and orders from the state and county health departments before any changes in operations are made.

Last Updated 9/22/2020 at 9:24 AM

COVID-19 cases reported to UW-Whitewater

	New reports – Week of Sep. 20 – Sep. 26	Previous week	Cumulative reports since March 2020
Students	24	121	349
Employees	0	2	9
Other	0	1	3
Unknown	0	0	1

Dashboard is updated on business days with available data. Numbers include cases reported through university-coordinated testing, as well as those reported through the COVID-19 Hotline, which may include testing that occurred off-campus through other health clinics/providers. Student employees are counted in the student numbers. The “Other” category is defined as any positive cases reported to UW-Whitewater who are neither students nor employees and may include visitors to the university, contractors or vendors, or others who have been to the university in person.  These numbers represent individuals who have had direct contact with the campuses.  Individuals who are working or attending solely in a remote manner and not living in University Housing are not included.

Regional Metrics

	University Health and Counseling Services (9/9-9/22)	Walworth County (9/5-9/18)	Rock County (9/2-9/15)	Jefferson County	Wisconsin (7-day average)
Percent Positive	49% (139/281*)	17.58%	11.05%	15.2%	14.9%
Time to complete contact tracing	100% of contacts are initiated within 48 hours**	80% of contacts are initiated within 48 hours	57% of contacts are initiated within 48 hours	Not Available	N/A
Healthcare system capacity level	No crisis management of care	No crisis management of care	No crisis management of care	Not Available	22% Available (Based on Immediate Bed Availability)
Total cases per 100,000	n/a	541.8	232.7	213.8	269.6

*UHCS percentage positive is based on PCR testing performed at the University Clinic site of students only.  Case totals are represented by (Total Positives/Total PCR Tests)

**To avoid duplication, UHCS actively partners with Walworth, Rock, and Jefferson Health Departments.  County Health Departments do tracing of positive cases and UHCS employees do tracing of contact cases. 

Dashboard is updated on business days with available data. Numbers include cases reported through university-coordinated testing, as well as those reported through the COVID-19 Hotline, which may include testing that occurred off-campus through other health clinics/providers. Student employees are counted in the student numbers. The “Other” category is defined as any positive cases reported to UW-Whitewater who are neither students nor employees and may include visitors to the university, contractors or vendors, or others who have been to the university in person.  These numbers represent individuals who have had direct contact with the campuses.  Individuals who are working or attending solely in a remote manner and not living in University Housing are not included.

Banner note: UW-W has now begun reporting the results of the antigen (rapid) tests which are being administered randomly to those in residence halls. This data is also available on the dashboard. The average percent positive for all antigen tests is 5.4%.