Release Notes: COVID-19 U.S. State by State Infographic – July 28, 2020
Document Link: Pier Digital COVID-19 Info Project V24.pdf

The “virtual watercooler” topic that is beginning to consume our collective thoughts as a nation is whether our children should return to school and how? The answers, like most during the course of a battle are not easy. Though how we react as a local community may surely affect our children as much as recommendations from our superintendents and our local school boards.

As business leaders will we question suggestions that appear not to be data-driven with a respectful, analytical mindset? Or will we let our own personal experiences, biases, and even wealth cause us to make a knee-jerk response to those whose views oppose us and undermine our short-term business goals?

As I look at the data on our latest Infographic from the position of the parent of adult children, I feel deeply for those that are making the difficult decision of how and when to educate their children at least for the upcoming semester. I am struck by the fact that those making the most difficult decisions over the next few weeks, seem to be in areas where the virus is the most virulent. It seems impossible to believe that Florida and Texas are truly planning on reopening their schools.

Upon further reflection, however, I realize there are a lot of varying forces playing in these decisions. Like most things, different circumstances call for different responses. In my home county know for its wealth, praised for its schools, and recently named the #1 community to raise children in the nation, the comments on social media are already becoming divisive and accusatory though school won’t start until September. As local school districts face the difficult realities of having to institute large expenditures to make a safer environment during the pandemic and inadequate funds are forthcoming from traditional revenue sources, tough decisions are having to be made. This is compounded by funding issues that may be impacted by pupil totals being reduced as parents elect to keep their children home, enroll in neighborhood pods or send them to private schools that can have much smaller classes. Furloughs of teachers now seem imminent in various areas and though on a personal level it may break our heart, the realities of the math from an analytical basis are undeniable.

Those with the resources and understanding employers may question why we are even thinking about sending our kids to school. But even in wealthier areas, there are parents that can’t help their kids with their schoolwork due to their own lack of education, will be leaving them alone with siblings so they can work at their service jobs, or are single-parent essential workers without the means for hiring a caregiver to monitor their children. There are also kids that are in desperate need of socialization both for developmental and mental health reasons and there are kids simply in need of a safe place with nutritious meals where they can escape their home reality.

As leaders of business and our community, I urge you all to take a holistic approach to the problem at hand and seek to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Ask questions. Find out about local conditions in the areas that your employees work and demographics and forces that may be playing on administrators’ and parents’ decisions. Above all, be supportive of your employee’s decisions and focus on meeting deliverables rather than forced schedules whenever possible. For those that such accommodations cannot be made such as line employees, are there other solutions that you could partner with the surrounding community to assist your employees to assist them in being able to continue to productively work without taking too great of a calculated risk?

We at Pier Digital believe the clients that rise to meet their employee’s needs during these times will be paid back ten-fold both in commitment from their employees and the community in the days ahead. We would welcome the ideas you have for improving the lives of both your employees and your community by reaching out to me at stephanie.pierle@pierdigital.com It is my hope that we can share the best of our ideas to collaboratively work together as we forge a new normal for our employees, our families, and our customers.

Stepanie Pierle, CFO and Management Consultant
stephanie.pierle@pierdigital.com

As we look to the future and forward guidance at the state level, Johns Hopkins University & Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center provides an online, interactive timeline of COVID-19 policies, cases, and deaths per state map. Dots on the timeline indicate key events in each state – closings (in red), openings (in green), and other policy changes and events (in grey). We strongly encourage bookmarking the site for the most accurate, up-to-date information about COVID-19 cases: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/state-timeline.