ANN ARBOR – The Ann Arbor School Board denied a motion Wednesday to allow spectators to attend sporting events within the district this fall during its virtual meeting.
The motion, made by trustee Susan Baskett, was defeated by a vote of 5-2 with trustee Glenn Nelson being the other in favor of the move.
The board also denied a motion made by trustee Jeff Gaynor that called for the cancellation of all fall sports in the district. That motion was not seconded by any of the other trustees.
Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift announced the decision to reinstate football and allow boys soccer, girls swim and dive and volleyball to begin competition on Sept. 9.
That decision came after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 176 allowed for the Michigan High School Athletic Association to permit the sports to compete.
But with the decision to allow sports to continue, Swift also prohibited spectators from attending games at all three high schools in the district – Pioneer, Skyline and Huron – citing concerns over fans adding an additional risk toward spreading COVID-19.
According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 is spread three main ways: Through large droplets spread when people are in close contact, through fomites when droplets fall on surfaces and people touch the surfaces and via tiny droplets or aerosols that can stay suspended in the air for three to 16 hours.
Swift’s decision came despite the MHSAA’s plan to allow two spectators per player at events.
“There’s no good decision here that is a simple and straight forward one,” Swift said during the meeting.
The board backed Swift’s decision, including trustee Jessica Kelly, who shared even she was turned away at a sporting event that involved her child this fall.
“I am that parent who was told ‘no,’ and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to hear ‘no’,” Kelly said. "But, we’re in a circumstance and time where ‘no’ is kind of the theme...I believe we’re in a place right now as a district that we have to tell these parents, even if they’re passionate, even if they love to watch their kid play, ‘no’.
“The best way to protect the sports for these kids for the duration of the (season) is to minimize the ways that it can go badly. And that’s hard to hear, and as a parent who has had to hear it, I’ll tell you how hard it was to hear it, but it’s where we are, and I don’t support spectators at any of the sports this fall.”
Kelly cited Georgia Tech Researchers' Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool, which calculates county-level risks of attending an event with someone who currently has COVID-19, as a reason to not allow spectators in the district.
Based on the tool, it was estimated in Washtenaw County, as of Thursday, Sept. 17, that there was a 54-percent chance a COVID-19 positive person would be present at an event with up to 100 spectators in attendance.
But for Baskett, not allowing spectators at games doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll stay at home.
“I cannot see us not allow parents or loved ones to be there,” she said. “If we tell parents they cannot come in (to facilities), they will simply put themselves around the fence, on top of cars, on the bleacher stands on the outside (of the facility). They are just that dedicated.”
Baskett said her reasoning for putting the topic on the agenda was to give parents and their children the opportunity to enjoy the positive moments athletics can provide.
And while the district has worked to provide streaming opportunities for spectators, that isn’t the same as seeing the games in person, Baskett argued.
“These kids deserved to have their loved ones around them, whether it be their parents, whoever, versus having to watch it on television,” she said.
Board President Bryan Johnson said having both games and spectators in attendance would do more harm than good.
“I can’t see a situation where we allow sports, and that’s contentious, but also we allow spectators as well, so now we multiply the chance of some type of spread,” he said. “I think allowing sports, without allowing spectators, splits the difference and I believe that would be the better way to go.”
All fall sports teams in the district are currently in competition, with football teams scheduled to begin playing next week.
The MHSAA gave clearance for football games to begin across the state this week, but Swift opted to postpone the start of the football season in the district to give teams more preparation for games.
MORE:
Ann Arbor Public Schools pushes back competition date for football
Is it safe for athletes to wear masks while exercising?
Gov. Whitmer: Football players, other athletes must mask up, even while competing
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