October 13th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

The Allegany County Board of Education on Tuesday received a COVID-19 update from Health Officer Jenelle Mayer and while the county’s numbers are still lagging behind the state- there was some encouraging news concerning quarantining students.  The latest data shows cases per 100,000 population in Allegany County at 53.76 compared to the state rate of 17.63. The positivity rate in Allegany County stands at 10.41% compared to Maryland’s 3.88%. And the vaccination rate of 45% remains 20 points lower than the rest of the state. Despite those trends, Mayer said that the county health department is now providing a shorter quarantine time for some students…

Meanwhile the board received an update on virtual learning options from the  board’s chief academic officer Dr Kim Kalbaugh. She said that while the system doesn’t have the staffing capacity to offer a virtual learning program- there are companies that could be contracted to provide the service. After some discussion, the  board voiced little interest in an outside company providing virtual learning. Board president Crystal Bender…