MILTON, Wis. – School board members at the School District of Milton voted 6-1 in support of the district moving forward with a plan to bring back winter sports during a meeting earlier this week.
Currently, Milton High School is virtual only following a COVID-19 outbreak.
“We did have positive cases within the building,” said Principal Jeremy Bilhorn. “We had larger number of students who needed to quarantine for contacts outside of the building.”
Bilhorn says on Thursday, the district will decide on when to bring students back to the school. Despite the prior outbreak, Bilhorn is confident in moving forward with winter sports.
“We feel that we are able to attempt to have sports options for students and try to do it as safe as we can,” he said.
The school’s director of athletics and activities Jeff Spiwak says teams will do everything they can to stay safe.
“I think we have a great plan to provide the best possible opportunities for kids while mitigating the virus at a very high level,” he said. “You’re talking about socially distanced benches…Anybody that walks into this building regardless of activity is wearing a mask.”
This comes at a time when healthcare leaders in Rock County are asking for the public to do less. On Thursday, 72 people were receiving medical care for the Coronavirus, a number that has doubled in the last ten days.
“Unless we do something to prevent the spread of the virus, I think that situation is going to get worse,” said Eric Thornton, President of SSM St Mary’s Hospital in Janesville. “There is no such thing as a risk free gathering, even If we (take precautions).”
Thornton says despite his pleas to the community to stay home, the hospital has no ability to set public policy. He says his hope is should the district play sports, they take every precaution necessary.
“If we felt that we could not more forward with a high expectation of safety, we wouldn’t do it,” Spiwak said.
Both Spiwak and Bilhorn say they could pull the plug on winter sports at any time in the process. Should the school be forced to close again, it would mean an automatic end to winter sports.
“It would have been heartbreaking to not have had a chance,” Spiwak said. “It will be heartbreaking to have to shut down if we have to go that route. I think what’s important is we are doing everything we can to offer every possible education opportunity to our kids while maintaining a very high expectation for student safety.”
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