Paid for by Felter 4 Olathe, Maria Copeland, Treasurer.
Endorsements:
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Election Day: November 7, 2023
Remember when LeEtta got our schools
opened during the pandemic?
She will bring that same brave, common-sense
leadership to city governance as mayor.
The Full Story
A note from LeEtta: "The COVID-19 pandemic brought our world to its knees. In unprecedented circumstances schools across the globe were navigating unclear circumstances with many details of the disease not yet known, and struggling to make the best decisions for their students, teachers and staff. There were no easy answers. In a school district, especially a large school district, great leaders are not flippant with life and death choices, like the decision to open all schools to in person learning. The motion and oral argument I gave this day were the result of weeks of work consulting with district leadership, studying the latest health guidance, researching hours on end, leaving mitigation in place, and having a plan that allowed us to go back to remote if we were making a mistake. It was a cautious plan, and it gave us time to implement the reopening of schools. In my 12 year history of serving on the school board we’ve never organically created policy from the dais…the pandemic changed that. School boards are not allowed to caucus (meet to organize votes behind the scenes), which is something I love… transparency in government. So, on this day when I made this motion, I had no idea if I would be laughed out of the room or not."
On February 4, 2021, while in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, middle school and high school students were in the hybrid-learning mode. LeEtta brought a motion to the Board of Education that she crafted with input from school-district leadership. Her motion earned enough support to reopen schools for all students who had enrolled for in-person learning.
·LeEtta’s diligent work got the first large district in Kansas open for in-person learning. Within three days of Olathe’s change, all large districts in Johnson County agreed to open their schools.
·Remote learning still was available for those who had enrolled for this option.
·Any teacher who wanted out of their contract due to COVID-19 concerns was released from their contract with no penalty.
·Not a single student, teacher or staff member lost their life due to COVID exposure at our schools.
.LeEtta was a key leader in assuring our students were allowed to play sports and participate in other opportunities offered through the district throughout the pandemic.
