Blue Springs School District Sues Jackson County

As government officials nationwide grapple with challenges of how best to move from one initial phase of reopening their communities and schools to the next phase due to the on-going Coronavirus 19 Pandemic, they often find themselves responding to blowback they receive over certain restrictions, mostly involving social gatherings—
from some public and private sector businesses and educational institutions. And, Jackson County, Missouri is no exception. On Wednesday, County Executive Frank White, hit with a lawsuit filed by the Blue Springs School District, issued the following statement:

“The lawsuit filed by the Blue Springs School District is troubling for many reasons. It is important to remember that the CDC, White House Coronavirus Task Force, and the World Health Organization have all recommended that we limit the size of gatherings due to the high level of the virus in our community. Yet, despite the apparent universal agreement that large public gatherings pose a substantial risk to the health and safety of our community, the Blue Springs School District has decided to sue the County in the hopes a court will allow them to have more spectators at their football games.

“While we understand and appreciate that reasonable minds can disagree about what the right number should be, we are disappointed that Blue Springs chose to litigate this issue. Unfortunately, the decision by Blue Springs will require us to divert valuable time, energy, and resources to this lawsuit instead of focusing on making our community safer and stronger.”