Montgomery County Board of Health votes to mandate virtual school for two weeks

The Montgomery County Board of Health voted to mandate that all county schools, kindergarten through 12th grade, move to a virtual education model for two weeks starting November 23rd.

Leading up to the vote, board members spoke on the rising numbers of cases of Coronavirus in the county and the anticipated spike in cases following the Thanksgiving holiday. The hope is that by closing in-person education for the two-week period the spike in cases will be reduced.

This meeting started yesterday and lasted about three hours (mostly public comment that was overwhelming against this measure). You can read our recap of that meeting here.

One thing about the order as originally written did change. The original text included language to allow an extension. The revised text removed that language. Any extension beyond the two weeks would now require a new order which would require a public meeting, public comment, and a vote.

Below is the video from today’s portion of the meeting (the vote).