<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595520945214.png" alt="Health secretary Lee Norman outlines the growing number of COVID-19 infections in Kansas during a news conference last week in which Gov. Laura Kelly announced her order to keep schools closed until after Labor Day. On Wednesday, Norman told board members that schools can't be safe islands in unsafe communities. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Health secretary Lee Norman outlines the growing number of COVID-19 infections in Kansas during a news conference last week in which Gov. Laura Kelly announced her order to keep schools closed until after Labor Day. On Wednesday, Norman told board members that schools can't be safe islands in unsafe communities. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERMAN SMITH &amp; TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/07/23/medical-experts-dispute-claims-by-kansas-board-of-education-member/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas State Board of Education member Michelle Dombrosky confronted health secretary Lee Norman <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/07/22/kansas-board-of-education-blocks-gov-laura-kellys-plan-to-delay-k-12-classes/">during Wednesday’s meeting</a>
 to ask why his advice — to delay the start of school for three weeks — 
conflicts with the opinion of other medical experts in the state.The board member from Olathe identified Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics,
 the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians and the University of Kansas 
Medical Center as organizations that offered this advice: “Get the kids 
back in school.”None of those 
organizations expressed support or opposition before Wednesday’s meeting
 regarding Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order, which would have delayed 
in-person instruction and activities at public and private K-12 schools 
until after Labor Day. Dombrosky opposed the governor’s order, which 
fell one vote short of approval as the state board voted 5-5.“I’m just looking at 
Children’s Mercy. I’m just looking at pediatrics. And there’s a lot of 
them saying get the kids back in school,” Dombrosky said. “We should be 
listening to the doctors, not the politicians.”Dombrosky didn’t respond 
to an email asking her to clarify her remarks. Medical experts, 
including Norman, agree that placing children in public schools is good 
for their well-being. The question is when is it safe to do so.“You don’t have to 
convince me or other public health officials,” said Norman, secretary of
 the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “We very well 
recognize there are many things other than education — there are 
benefits for mental health and nutrition, all sorts of things. The 
motivation is absolutely to get kids back into school. No question about
 it. Just want to make sure it’s done safely.”Kelly proposed the delay 
in response to a surge in coronavirus cases in some areas of the state. 
Board members who opposed the order preferred to give control to local 
school boards who can decide whether COVID-19 poses a threat in their 
area.Lisa Augustine, 
spokeswoman for Children’s Mercy Hospital, said “the decision to resume 
in-person schooling should be made by the local school and school system
 in conjunction with the local health department.” However, Children’s 
Mercy didn’t share any advice with board members, Augustine said.Other organizations more directly refuted Dombrosky’s comments.Chad
 Johanning, president of the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, said 
the organization supports physically reopening schools but only when it 
can be done safely. The organization has not counseled members of the board of education, he said.“Delaying reopening and 
affirming the governor’s order during this recent increase in COVID 
cases will support the safe reopening of our schools,” Johanning said. 
“It is unfortunate that the AAFP position on reopening school is being 
spun politically to meet a political goal.”Jill Chadwick, a 
spokeswoman for the University of Kansas Health System, said Dombrosky 
misunderstood or took out of context any statements made by the medical 
network’s experts.“It needs to be made 
clear,” Chadwick said. “The University of Kansas Health System has not 
and will not take a position on the governor’s executive order.”Mel Hudelson, executive director of Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics,
 said decisions about when to return to classrooms should be guided by 
public health agencies rather than politics. KAAP supports the efforts 
of KDHE, the agency led by Norman.“Public health experts 
should tell us when the time is best to safely open school buildings, 
and educators and administrators should shape how we do it,” Hudelson 
said. “These decisions should take into account the spread of COVID-19 
in the state and the ability of school districts to adapt to make 
in-person learning safe.”Thousands of public 
comments were submitted to the state Board of Education in advance of 
the vote. The written comments included insight of two Wichita-area 
pediatricians who endorsed Kelly’s recommendation to put off school for 
three weeks.Paul Teran, a member of 
the pediatrics department at the KU School of Medicine in Wichita, said 
opening schools to 500,000 students and thousands of educators in August
 would be unwise.“Delaying school reopening
 until after Labor Day will allow public health officials to have a 
better understanding of the viral transmission in our state and also 
give schools more time to prepare and implement measures that will 
improve student and staff safety,” Teran said.“It is very important that
 we get our students back into the school setting as soon as we can,” 
said Stephanie Kuhlmann, an associate professor of pediatrics at KU 
School of Medicine who practices medicine at Wesley Children’s Hospital 
in Wichita. “However, it is even more important that our students return
 to school in the safest manner and environment as possible.”

Medical experts dispute claims by Kansas Board of Education member