As a school board director, I’ve seen a growing number of vendors pitching our district on adding ultraviolet light disinfection systems to our HVAC systems to reduce COVID risk. …

I am deeply troubled by Jeffco Public Health Director Dr. Dawn Comstock’s latest public health order, mandating the masking of our children when they are in school. I have repeatedly noted the reduction in COVID infection risk that we have already accomplished through vaccination, and improvements to school ventilation and…

With billions in federal aid available for school facility and HVAC improvements, districts are getting inundated with pitches from suppliers offering ways to strengthen their COVID defenses. The proposals about which we receive the most questions are for ultraviolet air disinfection systems. Up to now, most districts have focused on…

Because of the disruption caused by the pandemic, America’s K-12 students have very likely suffered some degree of learning losses over the past year. Let’s use Jefferson County, Colorado, where I sit on the Board of Education, as an example. Jeffco’s COVID achievement losses came on top of the significant…

COVID-19 has presented decision makers with a classic wicked problem, confronting them with difficult tradeoffs between competing goals in the context of a complex, constantly evolving situation. Unfortunately, too many leaders have preferred to pass the buck, rather than having it stop at their desk. Over the past 16 months…